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KABUL, Afghanistan – A motorcycle rigged with explosives exploded at an election rally in northeastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least 14 people, including civilians and members of the security forces , officials said.
Khalil Aser, spokesman for Takhar province provincial police chief, said another 32 people were injured when the motorcycle charged with explosives parked near the rally in the Rustaq district exploded.
"A number of wounded are in critical condition," he said.
The attack took place around noon before Nazefa Yusufi Beg, a candidate in the October 20 legislative elections, arrived at the rally, Aser said. We did not know right away if she was the target.
Jawad Hajri, spokesman for the provincial governor, said that Rustaq was an isolated district where insurgents had not attacked in the past and that the supporters of the candidate had gathered for the gathering confident in their safety.
Adeb Hamra, a local resident, said during a phone interview that the district government hospital had only four doctors and that it was overwhelmed by deaths and injuries, including the most in critical condition.
Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents are active in the province and have claimed repeated attacks in the province.
This was not the first attack on a political campaign.
On Tuesday, eight people, including Saleh Mohammad Achekzai, were killed when a suicide bomber hit his home in Helmand province. He was holding a meeting at the time of the attack in Lashkar Gah, the capital of the province.
On October 2, just days after the start of the official campaign, a suicide bomber set off an election rally in the eastern province of Nangarhar, killing at least 14 people and injuring 40 others.
Last week, Taliban insurgents issued a statement condemning the elections and warning Afghan candidates and security forces that they would be targeted if they participated. The Taliban called polling stations an event manipulated by the United States to strengthen their grip on the country.
There are 2,565 candidates vying for seats in the 249 members of the chamber, including 417 women.
In the run up to the election campaign, five candidates were killed in separate attacks. Officials from the country's Independent Electoral Commission said two other candidates had been abducted and their fate was unknown. Three others were injured in acts of violence. Afghan security forces accidentally killed three bodyguards of an independent candidate during a raid on a house near his home in Kunar province, in the east of the country.
In a separate report released Saturday in Logar province, at least five civilians were killed by the bomb blast during a wedding ceremony, said Shah Poor Ahmadzai, spokesman. the chief of the provincial police.
Ahmadzai said that seven other people were injured in Friday night's attack in Mohammad Agha district.
Mohammad Naser Ghairat, a member of the provincial council in Logar, said the bomb was placed near the house where the wedding was taking place and targeted the participants.
Ahmadzai said the initial reports show that the husband and wife were not injured. An investigation was opened to find out more and the death toll could increase, he said.
Nobody immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban insurgents are active in the province.
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