No corrupt officials in new government, claims Karzai

Kabul:  Afghan President Hamid Karzai, under fire from his international partners to clean up his administration, insisted Sunday there's no place for corrupt officials within his government.

Elsewhere, NATO officials said there was still no trace of two American paratroopers who went missing four days ago after trying to retrieve supplies from a river in western Afghanistan.

NATO forces said a US service member was killed on Saturday in an insurgent attack in the west. The alliance said in a statement that the death was not related to the search for the missing paratroopers.

President Barack Obama and other international leaders have urged Karzai to crack down on corruption after he won Afghanistan's fraud-marred election by default. Karzai was proclaimed the winner last week after his main challenger pulled out of a runoff, saying he did not expect a fair vote.

"Individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government," Karzai said in an interview with the US Public Broadcasting Service. The presidential press office released comments from the interview.

Karzai also said donor countries share some of the responsibility for rampant corruption because of a poorly structured system to manage projects. The UN and some donor countries have also cited the need for a more efficient system to guarantee the money serves the Afghan people.

"There is no accountability of their contracts and there is a serious corruption in the implementation of those projects. And the responsibility for this corruption is the international community," Karzai said. "I am hopeful that by joint cooperation we will be able to overcome all these challenges."