Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak has escaped what officials believe was an assassination attempt at Kabul's main airport. Officials say four gunmen in military uniforms opened fire on a vehicle belonging to Mr. Wardak after he got out and boarded a nearby helicopter. No one was wounded in the incident. A ministry spokesman says nine people have been arrested over the shooting. The Associated Press reports all the suspects are soldiers. The attack came about a week before parliamentary elections that Taleban militants have vowed to disrupt. Officials say hours after the shooting, a helicopter carrying the country's army chief (Bismillah Khan) and a cabinet member (Minister for the Disabled Sediga Balkhi), crashed in Panjshir Valley (north of Kabul), where Mr. Wardak had flown for a memorial ceremony. No one was seriously injured.