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Afghan VP candidate injured as Kabul blast kills two, wounds 25

29 July 2019 09:14 (UTC +04:00)

A powerful explosion hit central Kabul on Sunday, wounding Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s running mate on the first day of official campaigning for a presidential election and killing at least two others, officials said, APA reports citing Reuters.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came before an expected resumption of peace talks between Taliban insurgents and U.S. diplomats in coming days.

Two civilians were killed and at least 25 more were injured in the blast on a road near the private Ghalib University, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

Immediately after the blast, gunmen stormed a nearby building belonging to vice presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh’s Afghan Green Trend Party. Saleh was wounded by shrapnel before being evacuated from the office.

Photographs shared by a government official showed Saleh sitting in a garden with blood stains on his right arm, surrounded by security guards.

Afghan soldiers battled gunmen in a four-storey building near the blast site for over six hours, Rahimi said, adding over 40 civilians had been rescued and all attackers killed. It was unclear how many died in that shootout.

The violence underscored the risks facing the presidential election, which is scheduled for Sept. 28 but has already been delayed twice this year.

It follows chaotic parliamentary elections in October last year which were marred by violence and accusations of widespread fraud as well as serious organizational problems.

Full results of the October parliamentary election were only released in May, almost seven months after the ballot.