'Karzai attackers' die in siege

The gun-battle at the house raged throughout the night

Afghan intelligence services say they have killed three insurgents and arrested six more in connection with Sunday's attack on President Karzai.

Three operations were launched simultaneously across the capital, Kabul, one of which resulted in a gun battle and an eight-hour siege.

A child and three Afghan security personnel were also killed.

Security has been tight in Kabul since the Taleban attacked the military parade. President Karzai was unharmed.

Underground defences

The head of Afghanistan's secret service, Amrullah Saleh, said the three operations were targeted at insurgents thought to have been involved in the attack on President Karzai.

"The man we arrested told us his comrades were in the Guzargah area of Kabul," he told reporters.

Using the information, security forces and police surrounded a house in the area in the west of Kabul shortly after midnight and told those inside to surrender, Mr Saleh said.

"From time to time we were shouting through the loudspeaker, telling them to give themselves up as they were surrounded."

He said three security police were killed and two injured as the two sides fought through the night with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns.

Security has been tight in Kabul since the weekend attack

When the siege ended, the bodies of two men, a woman and a child were recovered from the mud-brick house, which had a series of tunnels and underground defences.

A Taleban spokesman said two of their men and one their wives had been killed along with at least one child, confirming they had been involved in the attack on Sunday's military parade.

Elsewhere in the city, six people were arrested, according to the national directorate of security. It said a third operation was on-going.

Ministers and security heads faced a barrage of criticism from members of parliament on Tuesday after the breach in security, seen as an attempt to kill the president.

The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul says the authorities are coming under increasing pressure as the Afghan government is due to take over responsibility for the security of Kabul from Nato forces in August.

There have been suicide attacks inside Kabul, but gun battles are rare.

Our correspondent says it is clear the Taleban are able to operate - and carry out high-profile attacks - at the heart of the nation's capital.