Defense Min.: Afghan president safe after fleeing gunfire

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, center, is seen on U.S. Humvee as he heads to inspect the Afghan forces at a ceremony marking the 16th anniversary the defeat of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday April 27, 2008 Automatic gunfire broke out at the ceremony, forcing dignitaries including the Afghanistan's president to take cover. A defense ministry spokesman says President Hamid Karzai, all Cabinet members and foreign diplomats are safe. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

KABUL, Afghanistan—Automatic gunfire broke out at a ceremony in Kabul on Sunday, forcing the Afghan president and other dignitaries to take cover.

A Defense Ministry spokesman said President Hamid Karzai, all Cabinet members and foreign diplomats were safe. Two lawmakers were reported wounded.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack against Karzai, saying four militants with suicide vests and guns were nearby.

Hundreds of people fled in chaos as shots rang out. It was unclear where the firing was coming from. A live TV broadcast of the event in Kabul quickly cut out.

Karzai was escorted from scene, surrounded by bodyguards, in one of four black Landcruisers.

"President Hamid Karzai, with all the cabinet members and foreign diplomats who were on the main stage, are safe. They have been evacuated from the area. It is not an exact report yet, and I'm not sure, but I heard two parliamentarians are wounded," Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi.

Sirajudin, a police officer at the scene, said he saw two people firing AK47 assault rifles from a house toward the area were Karzai and other dignitaries were sitting.

The gunfire erupted as the national anthem ended at a ceremony to mark the 16th anniversary of the victory over the Soviet invasion, which ended in 1992.

TV footage showed a couple of dignitaries slump in their seats as the shooting began. They appeared to be lawmakers.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said four insurgents near the national stadium where the event was held were wearing suicide vests and carrying AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades to attack Karzai. He spoke to an AP reporter by phone from an undisclosed location.