Afghanistan ? Afghan President Hamid Karzai removed two of the country’s top security officials — each with longtime ties to American forces — over an attack on a national conference exploring peace with the Taliban.

The removals Sunday of the interior minister and intelligence chief surprised U.S. officials and may cause major disruption within Afghanistan’s intelligence and security establishment at a critical juncture — as the U.S. and NATO escalate the war and the Afghan government commits to offering peace to the insurgents.

The head of the National Directorate of Security, Amrullah Saleh, was a senior figure in the Northern Alliance that helped the U.S. oust the Taliban regime in 2001. As a young man, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar served in Afghanistan’s Communist-era intelligence agency and fought mujahedeen opposed to the Soviet occupation.