Rocket fired at police ceremony with Afghan Vice Presient present

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-06/15/c_13931415.htm

Rocket fired at police ceremony with Afghan Vice Presient present

English.news.cn 2011-06-15 15:50:20

MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A rocket fired from an unknown

location landed near a police training center in Wardak province on Wednesday

where the Afghan Vice President and Interior Minister were attending a ceremony,

causing no casualties, an official said.

" A rocket fired by militants landed about 400 meters away from a building of the

police training center where Vice President Mohammad Karim Khalili and Interior

Minister Basmillah Mohammadi were attending a ceremony regarding police

training, " an official with the press department of the Afghan Interior

Ministry, Mohammad Najib Nikzad told Xinhua.

No one was hurt in the attack which took place at around 10:30 a.m. local time

in the provincial capital Maidan Shar, some 35 km west of the capital city of

Kabul, he asserted.

Meantime, Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman for the Wardak provincial administration

in talks with media, confirmed the incident and said a rocket fired by

anti-government militants landed some 100 meters away from the ceremony and

disrupted the process.

He also added that Vice President Khalili, Interior Minister Mohammadi, some

officials from the NATO and government were there to inaugurate a police

training center in Dasht-e-Top area of Syed Abad district.

On the other hand, Zabihullah Mujahid, who claims to speak for the Taliban

outfit in talks with media via telephone from an undisclosed location, claimed

responsibility for the attack and said the insurgents fired several rockets and

disrupted the meeting attended by high ranking officials.

Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since the militant group announced to

launch a spring offensive from May 1 against Afghan and NATO-led troops based in

Afghanistan.

The Taliban outfit has also warned the civilians to stay away from official

gatherings, military convoys and centers as the militants would attack officials

and security personnel as legitimate targets.