Elections under fire

Published March 25, 2014

The Taliban have vowed a campaign of violence to disrupt the ballot on April 5, urging their fighters to attack polling staff, voters and security forces in the run up to election day. With less than two weeks to go before the presidential poll, suicide bombers attacked a building next to the house of Afghan presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani and engaged in a gun battle with security guards protecting his home. Militants also launched a gun and suicide attack on an Afghan election commission office in Kabul. An Afghan police official said two suicide bombers were dead but another four insurgents may still be inside the election commission office.

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