Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has said intelligence failure on the part of NATO forces, allowed the Taliban to carry out the latest attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

"The terrorists' infiltration in Kabul and other provinces is an intelligence failure for us and especially for NATO and should be seriously investigated," Karzai said in a statement on Monday.

The president however, praised the "bravery and sacrifice of the security forces who quickly and timely reacted to contain the terrorists".

In his first reaction after the series of attacks targeting western embassies and NATO bases, which continued till Monday morning, Karzai said that "Afghan security forces proved to the people that they can defend their country successfully".