Gunmen opened fire on a vehicle belonging to Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak on Saturday and shortly afterwards a helicopter carrying the country's army chief crash-landed. No one was seriously hurt in either incident and it was not clear if there was a link between them, officials said.
The attack on Wardak at Kabul airport came just over a week before parliamentary elections, the next big step in Afghanistan's difficult path to stability. He is not running.
Four gunmen opened fire on his vehicle shortly after he had left the airport by helicopter, the Defence Ministry said.
"The minister is safe. He had already left the airport by helicopter when the attack happened," said ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi, describing the attack as a bungled assassination attempt.
The gunmen - who were wearing military uniforms - were arrested, he said.
A short time later, a helicopter taking off in the Panjsher valley north of Kabul, where officials were attending a memorial ceremony with Wardak, crashed after takeoff when its engine failed but no one was killed.
Among those on board was army chief General Bismillah Khan, another defence ministry official said. "Thank God there are no casualties," said ministry official Sayed Hussain.
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