KABUL. Sept. 18 (Reuters) - A string of attacks hit Afghanistan's parliamentary election today, after the Taliban vowed to disrupt a poll that is a crucial test for the credibility of the government and security forces.
Voters appeared hesitant to go to polling stations after a series of rocket strikes in provincial centres across the country, as well as one which landed near the U.S. embassy and the headquarters of NATO-led forces in central Kabul about three hours before polls opened at 7 a.m. (0230 GMT). Two Afghan election observers were wounded by an explosion inside a polling centre in eastern Khost province, a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistan border, said Khost police chief Abdul Haqim Eshaqzai.
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| Karzai shows his finger marked with indelible ink after he cast his vote. AFP |
In terms of violence, the early phase was similar to that of the flawed 2009 presidential election.
Significant security failures would be a major setback, with Washington watching closely before U.S. President Barack Obama conducts a war strategy review in December likely to examine the pace and scale of U.S. troop withdrawals.
A policeman was wounded earlier when a rocket landed near a government compound in Ghazni city, southwest of Kabul. At least three other rockets landed in Ghazni province, police said.
Similar attacks on polling stations and government buildings were reported in Badakhshan and Kunduz in the north, Jalalabad and Khost in the east and in Herat in the west.
“People are in their homes and they want to see the security situation. They will come out later and vote,” Mohammad Omar, governor of Kunduz province, told Reuters.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the poll and urged potential voters to stay at home even as President Hamid Karzai called on Afghans to come out and vote.
“As in every election, we do hope that there will be a high voter turnout and that nobody will be deterred by security incidents,” Karzai told reporters after casting his ballot at a high school near the presidential palace in Kabul.
Governor survives blast
KABUL, Sept 18, 2010 (AFP) - The governor of Afghanistan's Kandahar province said today that he had survived a bomb attack while visiting polling centres in the volatile southern region, the spiritual capital of the Taliban.
“I was on my way to Dand district and along the way there was a roadside bomb explosion against our vehicles,” Toryalai Wesa told AFP. |
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