President Hamid Karzai accused Afghan guards working for U.S. coalition forces of killing a provincial police chief and at least four other security officers yesterday, and he demanded that American forces hand over the guards involved.

Karzai's call suggested that U.S. coalition members were protecting Afghan security forces involved in a raid on the attorney general's office in Kandahar city, the country's largest southern city and a stronghold of the Taliban.

However, a U.S. military spokesman, Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, said no American forces from any branches were present or involved in the incident.

Gunfire broke out after Afghan and U.S. forces moved into a heavily protected government complex in Kandahar and ordered employees to stay indoors, said Mohammad Khan, an employee in the attorney general's office.

Hafizullah Khaliqyar, the district attorney, said that about 50 Afghan security forces dressed in military fatigues and carrying guns burst into the office complex, demanding the release of a man accused of falsifying documents. When the troops threatened to release the man by force, Khaliqyar called the provincial police chief, he said.

"After that, when the police chief wanted to talk to these people, there was some argument, and the gunbattle started," Khaliqyar said.