KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: President Hamid Karzai accused Afghan guards working for US coalition forces of killing a provincial police chief and at least four other security officers during a gunbattle outside a government office yesterday.

In a harshly worded statement, Karzai demanded that coalition forces hand over the guards involved. But the governor of Kandahar later said 41 private security guards connected to the incident had been disarmed and arrested by Afghan authorities.

The US military said it was not involved in the shooting, calling it an "Afghan-on-Afghan incident". However, Karzai's statement suggested that the guards sought refuge in a US coalition base after the killings.