Suspected militants fired rockets, detonated explosives and engaged in an intense gun battle with security forces Wednesday near the site of a jirga, or peace meeting, where Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke. Karzai carried on with his speech as the blasts went off. Shortly afterward, he left the event in a heavily fortified convoy. Even then, gun battles continued in the neighborhoods around the meeting site, said Kabul police official Mohammed Zahir. One rocket landed a few feet short of the outer fence of the meeting site, CNN reported. Police later said they had surrounded a home in Kabul where suspected insurgents, believed to be responsible for the attack, were holed up. Three suspected suicide bombers were killed and one was arrested in connection with the attack, Karzai's spokesman said.
