Assassination attempt on Afghan leadership is foiled
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Your support makes all the difference.Afghan authorities announced yesterday they had foiled an attempt to assassinate the country's leadership after a man driving a car filled with explosives was arrested.
Afghan television reported that the man, described as a foreigner, planned to drive into other vehicles carrying national leaders. A statement issued by the Afghan intelligence service provided few details but said: "International terrorism once again is showing its face."
As fears of political assassinations mount, President Hamid Karzai has asked for US military assistance in providing personal security. It was not known whether he was targeted by the would-be assassin yesterday. Three weeks ago, two gunmen assassinated Abdul Qadir, a new vice-president and the second government minister killed this year. The aviation and tourism minister, Abdul Rahman, was stabbed and beaten to death in February at Kabul airport.
The rivalry between warlords has complicated the security situation in Afghanistan, where the US is continuing its pursuit of al-Qa'ida.
Civilians have often been caught up in the fighting. Scores of wedding guests died when they were bombed by US warplanes by mistake on 1 July. The United Nations indirectly admonished the US yesterday for the incident.
The report by a UN fact-finding mission sent to the site three days after the bombing is expected to be released today.
A preliminary draft of the report on the wedding tragedy is said to include a higher death-toll than estimates given by the Pentagon. It is also believed to accuse US personnel of trying to clean up the scene, possibly in an effort to cover up the full extent of the tragedy.
Officials said the draft version was being amended because it included elements that were insufficiently backed by facts. They would not say whether the portions considered unprovable related to the allegations of a US cover-up.
That first draft reportedly puts the death toll at 80 civilians, with the numbers of injured at 200. Afghanistan officials put the numbers of dead at 48, with 117 wounded, although the Pentagon has said it found only five graves.
The UN investigators were apparently unable to corroborate American claims that a US plane involved in the attack had come under fire from the ground. UN personnel were unable to find any destroyed weaponry or ammunition near the scene of the attack.
While holding back on the final version of the fact-finding report for at least a day, the UN did issue a statement clearly aimed at the Pentagon. "The findings on the ground bear out the paramount necessity that such incidents do not recur, both from a humanitarian and political perspective," it said.
The statement also said the report would include calls "that an in-depth investigation" be done "to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated; and that the protection of civilian lives becomes a primary concern in the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan".
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