An Afghan intelligence official has accused Pakistan's spy agency of
planning the April assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid
Karzai.
Sayed Ansari, a spokesman for the national intelligence
agency, told reporters today that Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence or ISI was involved in the attack on Mr. Karzai.
The Afghan president was unharmed in the April 27 attack on a military parade in Kabul, but three people were killed.
Ansari says phone calls linked to the attack can be traced back to Pakistan.
President
Karzai's spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada said Tuesday a "foreign
intelligence agency" was responsible for the assassination attempt,
without naming a country or agency.
Afghanistan's intelligence
chief, Amrullah Saleh, has said there is evidence that militants based
in Pakistan's tribal region planned the attack.
Relations
between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been strained in recent weeks,
since President Karzai threatened to send Afghan troops into Pakistan
to fight Taliban militants.
In other news, the U.S.-led
coalition in Afghanistan says its troops killed 22 militants after they
attacked two towns in the east of the country Wednesday.
The
coalition says it carried out airstrikes on Taliban insurgents after
they attacked government offices in Sarobi and Gomal in Paktika
province.
Earlier today, NATO-led forces in southern Afghanistan
said an explosion killed one soldier in Nahri Sarraj district of
Helmand province.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
News
Afghan Official Accuses Pakistani Spy Agency of Karzai Assassination Attempt
update