KABUL -- Authorities have arrested eight people, including one in Saudi Arabia, in connection with last week's deadly attack on a guest house used by United Nations employees, the Afghan intelligence chief said Saturday. He said those arrested claimed the assailants came from Pakistan's Swat Valley.

Amrullah Saleh also told reporters that Afghan intelligence had advance information that a Taliban attack in Kabul was in the works but was expected during rush hour. Instead, the attackers struck just before dawn Wednesday, killing eight people -- five of them United Nations foreign staffers. The three assailants also died.

Saleh's comments are likely to intensify criticism of the security provided to employees of the world body working in Afghanistan. The United Nations has said that it took too long for Afghan police and NATO troops to respond to the attack.

Saleh said the eight men taken into custody in connection with the assault included an imam who provided a hide-out for the assailants before the attack. He did not elaborate on what role the other seven may have played.

He said Aghan authorities had no evidence that the assailants were from Pakistan apart from detainees' statements. The Swat Valley fell under Taliban control until Pakistani forces pushed out the militants in an offensive last spring.

Saleh said the guest house attack was directed by an al Qaeda operative known as Ajmal who fled to the Waziristan area of northwest Pakistan. Pakistani troops have launched an offensive in South Waziristan, stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@