KABUL, October 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Kabul's international airport was closed Saturday, October 12, in a heightened security alert, according to a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

Major Gordon Mackenzie said flights to and from the airport would be restricted for at least the next 48 hours due to a "change in the security situation", reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"It is a security situation and we apologize for the inconvenience to passengers," he said without elaborating.

Another Western military source in Kabul told AFP that a threat of ground fire against aircraft had been uncovered by Afghan intelligence sources.

Despite ISAF's confirmation of the closure, the airport's general director Haji Temour said the airport remained open as usual.

"I was at the airport until 7:00 pm tonight, this is not true, we had normal flights today and flights will run tomorrow as schedule."

Confusion among Afghan officials and security services is not uncommon in a bureaucratic system which is only a few months old.

An airport worker, who did not wish to be named, told AFP that a plane carrying VIPs was denied permission to land in Kabul because of the threats and was diverted to Bagram, a military airbase north of the city, to make an emergency landing.

However, a U.S. military spokesman at Bagram said he was unaware of any diversions.

Last month, Afghan police discovered a rocket positioned west of Kabul, apparently aimed at international flight paths using the airport.

Kabul's basic facilities have been catering to an increasing level of air traffic in recent months with international connections leaving several days a week.

Last month, Afghan flag carrier Ariana airlines added a connection to Frankfurt to a list of destinations already including New Delhi and Dubai.

Security has been high in and around the Afghan capital over the past few weeks following a series of bomb attacks which culminated in a city center blast which killed 30 people.

The September 5 explosion happened just hours before an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a trip to the southern city of Kandahar.

The gunman, who came within inches of killing Karzai when he opened fire on the presidential motorcade, is believed to have links to the former Taliban regime.

Taliban remnants, in addition to members of the al-Qaeda network and anti-government forces, still pose major threats to stability in Afghanistan which is recovering from the effects of 23 years of conflict.