Taliban attacks presidential compound

KABUL -- Taliban militants stormed the presidential compound yesterday after bluffing their way past two checkpoints, triggering a gun battle that left eight attackers and three guards dead and sent journalists attending an official event scrambling for cover, officials and witnesses said.

The well-planned daylight assault in a highly fortified zone of the capital was a bold challenge to Kabul's authority just a week after the Taliban opened a political office in Qatar as the Islamic militant movement said it was willing to begin a U.S.-led peace process.

The gun battle started around 6:30 a.m. near the east gate leading to the palace next to the Afghan Ministry of Defense and the former Ariana Hotel, which former U.S. intelligence officials have confirmed is used by the CIA. One carload of Taliban fighters dressed in military-style camouflage uniforms emerged from a black Land Cruiser and started shooting. Another got stuck between two checkpoints and detonated their explosives-laden vehicle.

The Taliban said all eight of its fighters died in the attack, while the Interior Ministry said three security guards were killed and another wounded.

The attack was a bitter reminder of the ability of the Taliban to penetrate the heart of the capital, showing their strength in the fight against President Hamid Karzai's Western-backed government.

The palace is in a large fortified area of downtown Kabul that also includes the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters for the NATO-led coalition forces and access is heavily restricted. Some Kabul residents initially thought the gunfire was a coup attempt because the idea of a Taliban attack within the security zone seemed so unlikely.