Karzai says talks held with Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai acknowledged that the US and Afghan governments have held talks with Taliban emissaries in a bid to end the nation's nearly 10-year war, even as suicide attackers launched a bold assault in the heart of the country's capital, killing nine people.

Saturday's attack, which occurred just blocks from Karzai's office, shows the parties have a long way to go to reach a political settlement as the Barack Obama administration weighs a major withdrawal of US forces. The White House neither directly confirmed or denied Karzai's statement.

Three men wearing camouflage fatigues that are frequently worn by Afghan soldiers stormed a police station near the presidential palace, with one of them detonating an explosives vest just outside the gates as two others rushed inside and began firing, an Interior Ministry statement said.