* ISAF says partnered with Afghan forces in deadly raid
* Afghan government says foreign forces ignored raid rules
* Two guards killed, two wounded, 13 detained
(Adds Karzai's spokesman, detail)
By Hamid Shalizi
KABUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's NATO-led force disputed on Monday an Afghan government accusation that foreign forces had violated a security pact by conducting a night raid in Kabul in which two guards were killed.
Under the 2008 deal, Afghan authorities have to approve and lead all security operations in the capital. But the Ministry of Interior (MOI) has said that foreign forces ignored the security rules and it was unaware of Friday's operation.
Raids by foreign forces, deeply unpopular among ordinary Afghans, are a source of friction between the NATO force and the government.
The incident is the latest to strain ties, with civilian casualties and accusations that President Hamid Karzai's government is corrupt adding to tension at a time when the West is assessing its long-term involvement.
Karzai and his National Security Council met the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, on Sunday and discussed last week's raid, Karzai's spokesman, Waheed Omer, said.
"This was an irresponsible way of dealing with an issue within Kabul city and that was clearly conveyed," Omer told a news conference, adding that the security council also said the operation had been "unnecessary".
Brigadier General Josef Blotz, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), said ISAF troops had coordinated the raid with Afghan security forces.
"ISAF coordinated with Afghan security forces to move on an area of interest, so we followed the usual procedures and the operation was partnered," Blotz said.
"The cooperation with MOD (Ministry of Defence) and MOI is actually magnificent, the cooperation has improved over time," he told a news conference.
ISAF said on Friday the raid in downtown Kabul followed a "credible threat" to attack the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
"FIRING IN ALL DIRECTIONS"
Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security said last week it had separately detained three people who it said had been instructed by the Pakistani Taliban to attack the presidential palace and the U.S. embassy.
But Afghan officials said the ISAF operation had incorrectly targeted the compound.
Authorities initially believed the compound was used by a private Afghan security firm but it was later found to belong to an armoured car business that has its headquarters in the United Arab Emirates.
On Monday, bullet holes could be seen in some of the windows in the Tiger International compound in north Kabul.
"The raid was a violation and was not based on correct information," Mohammad Zaher, head of criminal investigations for the police in Kabul, told Reuters. "This was a one-sided operation without the coordination of Kabul's police."
"The method of the operation was wrong," he said. "When we arrived at the scene people were asking for help, but the foreigners were firing in all directions."
He said two police generals who had known about the raid, but were not involved in the operation, had been suspended for not telling higher authorities.
Two Afghan security guards were killed, two wounded and 13 apprehended in the raid, ISAF said. All those detained were later released after a senior Afghan commander vouched for them.
The NATO force said in a statement that a large number of weapons were found during the operation.
Rules governing raids by foreign forces were tightened in 2009. Under the new rules, raids must be cleared by Afghan authorities first and must involve Afghan troops.
Violence is at its worst across Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan troops ousted the Taliban in 2001, with record deaths on all sides of the near-decade long conflict. (Additional reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Writing by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Paul Tait and Robert Birsel)
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