A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Afghan capital on Saturday,
killing at least 15 people as voting concluded in parliamentary
elections that were overshadowed by the threat of attacks and serious
organizational problems.
Voting should have been concluded by the time the attacker struck in an
area to the north of Kabul, but polling stations were kept open longer
than normal to cope with large numbers of people who had been unable to
vote.
Ten civilians and five police officers were killed when the bomber tried
to enter a polling station and more than 25 were wounded, a senior
security official said.
The attack appeared to have been the most serious of a day marked by a
series of smaller-scale incidents that caused dozens of casualties
across the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
More than 130 Afghans have been wounded in the violence, officials said.
Most of the casualties were in Kabul, acting health ministry spokesman
Mohibullah Zeer said, after the Taliban warned voters to boycott the
ballot "to protect their lives".
Taliban militants have issued a series of statements telling people not
to take part in what they consider a foreign-imposed process and warning
election centres may be attacked.
Wider election concerns have centred on technical and organisational
problems with biometric voter-registration equipment, polling stations
not opening on time, missing election materials and delays forcing
lengthy waits.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC), the body overseeing the
ballot, said voting hours would be extended in some centres to cope with
demand and some polling stations, which had not opened at all, would be
open on Sunday.
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