Afghans deny assassination attempt

Shots fired near the Afghan Defence Minister were not an assassination attempt as originally thought but the result of a dispute among soldiers, a ministry spokesman said yesterday.

Shots were fired towards minister Abdul Rahim Wardak's vehicle on Saturday shortly after he had got out at Kabul airport to catch a helicopter flight.

The incident came just over a week before parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability. Mr Wardak is not running.

The Defence Ministry initially said the shooting by men in uniform was a bungled assassination attempt, but spokesman Zahir Azimi said an investigation had determined the firing was the result of an arguement.

"Soldiers and officers were involved in a clash among themselves when the defence minister's car was by accident passing," Mr Azimi told a briefing.