Afghans foil plot to kill US ambassador

Afghan intelligence agents have scuttled a plot to assassinate outspoken US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, swooping down on a station wagon carrying three Pakistanis armed with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said today.

The arrests come days after Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US officials warned foreign fighters are slipping into Afghanistan to cause mayhem ahead of parliamentary elections.