World powers condemn attack on Afghan leader

UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon led international condemnation of an extremist attack which saw Afghan President Hamid Karzai survive a hail of rockets and bullets that killed three people.
"I condemn in the strongest terms the attack against President Karzai that occurred at a victory parade in Kabul today," the UN secretary general said in a statement Sunday.
The extremist Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the attack which they said showed their ability to strike "wherever we want to" but also saw three gunmen shot dead by security forces, the Afghan defence ministry said.
"This attack against the legitimate institutions of the Afghan state and the Afghan people is unacceptable," Ban said.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy earlier slammed the "cowardly" and "odious" attack, vowing France's "resolute and constant" support for efforts to stabilize the country, in a latter to Karzai.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Karzai to express her "dismay" over the attack.
"The chancellor assured him that Germany will remain closely engaged by Afghanistan's side," Merkel's spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said in a statement.