WASHINGTON, Sept 6: The United States said it hopes a failed assassination attempt will not deter Afghan President Hamid Karzai from continuing to work for unity and peace in his country.

“Today’s apparent failed assassination attempt will not stop President Hamid Karzai from continuing to bring his people together,” Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told a gathering in Washington hours after the violence.

“And regardless of the recent spate of bombings, including the tragic events of today (Thursday), that is simply no longer the country it was a year ago,” Armitage said in an address at the US Institute of Peace — a research center funded by the US Congress — at a conference on “ America’s challenges in a changed world.”

Demanding continued multilateral contributions for a US military offensive in Afghanistan, Armitage urged the international community to “deal with the underlying conditions that drove that nation to such chaos.”