September 16, 2004 - 12:00 PM

Afghan president aborts trip after attack

By Ahmad Masood

GARDEZ, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has aborted an election campaign trip
to the southeast province of Gardez after a rocket exploded just before he was due to land by helicopter.

The rocket landed near a school about 2 km (1 mile) from where the U.S. military helicopter in which he
was travelling was preparing to touch down. There were no injuries.

Karzai was named interim president in 2002 after a U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban who were
protecting Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda network, architects of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Karzai faces 17 rivals in the October 9 vote -- the first direct presidential poll in Afghan history.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the elections, which the U.S.-backed incumbent is favourite to win,
and have threatened all candidates.

Karzai narrowly escaped an assassination attempt on September 5, 2002, in the southern city of
Kandahar, after which his security was dramatically tightened.

He has rarely been seen in Afghanistan outside his heavily fortified presidential palace where he is
protected by U.S. bodyguards.

Presidential spokesman Jawed Ludin said Karzai had returned safely to Kabul and the incident was under
investigation.

He said the rocket landed in the village of Rabat at about the same time Karzai's helicopter was coming
in nearby, but it would be premature to say it was an assassination attempt.

"It's too early to say who did it and what the motivation was," he said on Thursday. "It would be
premature to conclude there was a direct link to the president landing there."

SECURITY REACTED

"It was really quite a long distance away from the landing ground, but the security obviously reacted and
made a decision not to land."

"The president is disappointed not to have been able to attend the occasions he wanted to attend."

The Gardez trip was a rare visit to the provinces by Karzai.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led military force in Afghanistan said it had no details of the incident.

"We are investigating," he said.

Official campaigning for the election has been largely low key with none of the large rallies and parades
seen in other countries.

The poll is seen as a crucial test of U.S. nation building efforts ahead of President George W. Bush's own
bid for re-election in November.

The vote has been delayed twice, partly because of growing insecurity. About 1,000 people including aid
workers, militants, civilians and Afghan and foreign troops have been killed in militant-related violence in
the past year.

More than 10.5 million people from a population of between 25 million and 28 million have registered to
vote, far surpassing expectations but leading to allegations of multiple registrations.