Securitymen keep a hawk-eye vigil for PM's Afghanistan visit

A thick security cover was thrown in and around the Afghan capital today for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit with hundreds of security officials keeping a hawk-eye vigil at the airport as well as the hill tops surrounding it.

Over 1,200 Afghan security personnel guarded the Kabul International airport when the Prime Minister flew in here to begin his two-day visit to Afghanistan.

Scores of gun toting personnel also kept a watch at the airport from their positions at the adjacent hill top areas.

Sources said the hill tops were manned by Afghan forces and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) while the air cover was provided by US forces when the Prime Minister's special flight landed.

Singh was taken by a chopper to the Presidential Palace for the ceremonial reception ahead of the bilateral talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Singh's personal security is being taken care of by the Special Protection Group(SPG), which has sent a huge team to the Afghan capital.

Ahead of the visit, the government kept details of the Prime Minister's schedule restricted due to security concerns heightened due to the killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden during a covert US operation inside Pakistan on May One.