Taliban killed, detained before attacking Kabul Conference (Extra)

Jul 20, 2010, 10:00 GMT

Kabul - NATO said Tuesday its forces killed or detained several Taliban insurgents who were in the final stages of preparing to attack the international conference in Kabul.

The joint Afghan and NATO forces conducted an operation in Musahi district close to Kabul city on Monday night, the military alliance said in statement.

The combined forces came under fire from militants barricaded inside the targeted buildings when they arrived in the area, it said.

The troops killed 'several Taliban and detained two others' who were believed to be in the 'final stages of preparation for attacks against the Kabul Conference,' the statement said.

Central Kabul was under a complete lockdown on Tuesday as Afghan security forces backed by NATO troops threw a security cordon around the capital city. In a bid to provide better security the government declared Monday and Tuesday public holidays in Kabul.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, speaking from an undisclosed location, said that their fighters had fired four rockets at the airport on Monday night.

The rocket attack on Kabul's airport forced UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt to land at a US military base, Bildt said Tuesday.

Ban and Bildt are among around 70 international representatives, including 40 foreign ministers, who are attending at the conference, which is expected to transfer more money and responsibility to the Afghan government.

Ban and Bildt landed instead at the US-operated Bagram military base and were flown by helicopter to Kabul.

A plane transporting Denmark's Foreign Minister Lene Espersen was also unable to land at Kabul airport and was diverted to Kazakhstan, Danish media reported.

It was not known if Espersen would be able to attend the latter part of the conference where she had planned to give a speech on women's rights.