Brown escaped snipers in Afghanistan: Report

By OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

London

Aug. 31: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown escaped an assassination plot by the Taliban in Kabul during a surprise visit to Afghanistan 10 days ago, according to a report.

Terrorists, who planned to shoot down Mr Brown’s helicopter as he flew over Kabul, were minutes away from an assassination attempt, a report in the News of The World has claimed.

Mr Brown had visited Afghanistan ahead of his trip to China. He met British troops in Helmand province and then went to Kabul to meet Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai for talks.

However, the bid was foiled with just minutes to spare when the two gunmen were spotted on a rooftop directly beneath the helicopter’s flight path, the report added.

Mr Brown was informed about the threat just as he and his aides were about to board the Chinook military helicopter at the British embassy in Kabul at the end of his one-day trip.

"The Prime Minister was told two hostiles had been spotted with guns on a nearby roof. He was rushed back to the compound and local forces dealt with the situation," the weekly newspaper quoted an unnamed security source as saying.

Mr Brown spent another 45 minutes sheltering inside the embassy in the Kabul "Green Zone" until a massive security operation swung into action for his 10-minute flight to the city’s international airport.

However, the two snipers managed to escape arrest. American Black Hawk helicopters were brought in to provide extra protection during the flight from the centre of Kabul. There has been no confirmation of the plot, but an unnamed source at Number 10 Downing Street is quoted as saying: "We never comment on security matters. But the PM always takes the advice of the security forces."