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Kabul siege ends after gun-battle 'Karzai attackers' die in siege
(about 3 hours later)
A siege in central Kabul has ended after hours of gunfire between Afghan security forces and an armed group. Afghan intelligence services say they have killed three insurgents and arrested six more in connection with Sunday's attack on President Karzai.
Reports say between four and six people were killed in the stand-off which lasted more than eight hours and saw a large area of the city sealed off. Three operations were launched simultaneously across the capital, Kabul, one of which resulted in a gun battle and an eight-hour siege.
It is not clear if the men are suspected of being Taleban insurgents or a criminal gang. A child and three Afghan security personnel were also killed.
Security has been tight in Kabul since the Taleban opened fire at a military parade on Sunday. Security has been tight in Kabul since the Taleban attacked the military parade. President Karzai was unharmed.
Explosions Underground defences
Afghan intelligence and security forces launched an operation in the early hours of the morning against a group of about half a dozen people who were trapped inside a house in Kabul's city centre. The head of Afghanistan's secret service, Amrullah Saleh, said the three operations were targeted at insurgents thought to have been involved in the attack on President Karzai.
There was an exchange of gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the night in Gozgargah neighbourhood, a maze of alleyways and mud houses crawling up a hillside. "The man we arrested told us his comrades were in the Guzargah area of Kabul," he told reporters.
Sporadic gunfire continued into the morning and there is still confusion as to exactly when the siege ended and how many of the gunmen may have been killed. Using the information, security forces and police surrounded a house in the area in the west of Kabul shortly after midnight and told those inside to surrender, Mr Saleh said.
The authorities have given little information about the operation or who they were targeting. "From time to time we were shouting through the loudspeaker, telling them to give themselves up as they were surrounded."
The Interior Ministry spokesman said only that they were enemies of Afghanistan, a term often used to refer to insurgents. He said three security police were killed and two injured as the two sides fought through the night with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.
But they could not confirm whether or not they were suspected Taleban fighters. Security has been tight in Kabul since the weekend attack
Security in Kabul has been tight after the Taleban opened fire on the president and high-ranking dignitaries on Sunday during a military parade marking a national day. When the siege ended, the bodies of two men, a woman and a child were recovered from the mud-brick house, which had a series of tunnels and underground defences.
Senior cabinet ministers faced lengthy questioning in parliament on Tuesday over the lapse in security and lost a confidence vote by MPs, although not by a large enough majority to lose their jobs. A Taleban spokesman said two of their men and one their wives had been killed along with at least one child, confirming they had been involved in the attack on Sunday's military parade.
Those same ministers are expected to hold a news conference later on Wednesday to give more details about this siege. Elsewhere in the city, six people were arrested, according to the national directorate of security. It said a third operation was on-going.
With plans for the Afghan government to take over responsibility for Kabul's security from Nato forces in August, there is intense pressure on military and intelligence leaders to prove they have a strong grip on the capital. Ministers and security heads faced a barrage of criticism from members of parliament on Tuesday after the breach in security, seen as an attempt to kill the president.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the authorities are coming under increasing pressure as the Afghan government is due to take over responsibility for the security of Kabul from Nato forces in August.
There have been suicide attacks inside Kabul, but gun battles are rare.
Our correspondent says it is clear the Taleban are able to operate - and carry out high-profile attacks - at the heart of the nation's capital.