PM minutes from death

TERRORISTS tried to KILL Gordon Brown during his visit to Afghanistan last week, the News of the World can reveal.

Taliban fanatics were in position . . . and ready to SHOOT down his helicopter as he flew over the capital Kabul.

But the assassination bid was foiled with just MINUTES to spare when the two gunmen were spotted on a rooftop directly beneath the chopper's flight path.

The drama unfolded in the early afternoon as Mr Brown was about to board the Chinook military helicopter at the British Embassy in Kabul after talks with officials at the end of his one-day trip. The PM, his closest aides, and a police and army protection team were just about to walk up the rear ramp of the Chinook when the alarm was sounded.

A security source said: "The Prime Minister was told two hostiles had been spotted with guns on a nearby roof. He was rushed back to the compound and local forces dealt with the situation."

But as Afghan police rushed to the rooftop scene the two gunmen are understood to have realised they had been spotted-and escaped.

The PM spent another 45 minutes sheltering inside the embassy in the Kabul "Green Zone" until a massive security operation swung into action for the 10-minute flight to the city's international airport.

Blackout

American Black Hawk helicopters were brought in to provide extra protection during the flight from the centre of Kabul-from where he went on to Beijing for Sunday's Olympic Games closing ceremony.

Mr Brown was in Afghanistan for just a few hours and first addressed British troops at their Camp Bastion base in Helmand province.

He then flew in a Hercules transport plane to the capital for talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

An official news blackout was imposed on any advance coverage of the trip-and it was only when he landed in Kabul that the media ban was lifted. But terrorists then had a three or four hour "window of opportunity" to put their assassination plan into action before Mr Brown left the country.

They would have suspected he would be flying out of the airport. And, as helicopters heading there are forced to use the same "air corridor" every day, it was easy for them to put gunmen on a convenient rooftop.

A Number 10 source said: "We never comment on security matters. But the PM always takes the advice of the security forces."

News of the assassination bid comes days after Ishaq Kanmi, 22, of Blackburn, Lancs was charged with threatening to kill Mr Brown and Tony Blair.

Brothers Abbas Iqbal, 23 and Ilyas Iqbal, 21, also from Blackburn, were charged with other terror offences.