Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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September 9, 2007

Afghan President Ends Speech Abruptly
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1957DE7:A6F02AD83191E1606DAB684999A98C8D9574F7DCC14957C0 Officials urged the
capacity crowd to remain calm, and said the loud noises Sunday were
from stones thrown at a metal gate by people not able to get into the
stadium





Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan on Sunday, 09 Sept.
2007Afghan President Hamid Karzai abruptly ended a speech to a crowd
of thousands after what sounded like gunshots rang out near Kabul's
main stadium. 

Officials urged the capacity crowd to remain calm, and said the loud
noises Sunday were from stones thrown at a metal gate by people not
able to get into the stadium.

Other reports say police fired shots in the air to keep the crowd from
trying to force their way into the stadium.

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan say a coalition soldier was
killed in a bombing Sunday in the southern province of Helmand.

A military statement says four other soldiers from the international
force were wounded by the blast.  The statement did not identify the
soldiers' nationalities.

Early Saturday, two British soldiers serving with NATO's mission in
Afghanistan were killed and several others wounded in a Taleban attack
south of Garmsir in the same province.

The U.S. military also reports that U.S.-led coalition forces backed
by war planes killed more than 30 suspected militants in the Garmsir
area Saturday.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.




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