William's secret Afghan meeting

The prince, who was recently awarded his RAF wings, was given persmission for the visit after approval from the Queen and Prince Charles.

Flying Officer Wales left RAF Brize Norton on Sunday and arrived at Kandahar airbase on Monday. He spent three hours speaking to military personnel before flying to Qatar en route back to the UK.

His visit came just hours after an assassination attempt was made on the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. And this morning there was a resurgence in violence between the Taliban and security forces in Kabul.

Dawn, and a western suburrb of Kabul reverberates to automatic gunfire. From 2am onwards, Taliban gunmen traded rounds and rocket propelled grenades with security forces.

"We're evacuating from here to move the children to a safe place. It's dangerous to be here."

At least six heavily armed men, believed to be Taliban fighters, had been surrounded overnight in a house, following a tip-off.

This morning's gunfight comes just three days after the Taliban attempted to kill the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, at a military parade on Sunday. He escaped but three civilians were killed and three Taliban fighters were shot dead by security forces.

Kabul's security chief says they knew about the plot but couldn't isolate the plotters in time.

Security sources in Kabul believe the group behind Sundays assassination attempt is linked to the gunmen who were surrounded and attacked this morning in the city.

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