KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban militants fired rockets near a gathering attended by President Hamid Karzai in central Afghanistan on Sunday, but no one was hurt, officials said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrives for a news conference in Kabul in this May 2, 2007 file photo. [Reuters]

The attack happened as Karzai was giving a speech to residents in the Andar district of Ghazni province, said an Afghan government official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the incident.

The rockets missed their target and Karzai continued his speech, the official said.

"The program went on as scheduled. Nothing was stopped," he said. Karzai returned to Kabul after the incident.

Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi told The Associated Press that Taliban militants were behind the attack. He spoke by satellite phone from an undisclosed location.