THE TALIBAN delivered an ominous pre-election blow to Nato and the Afghan authorities yesterday, launching a suicide attack on a convoy of foreign soldiers on one of Kabul’s most important thoroughfares.
One soldier and seven other people died when a suicide bomber detonated a device in a car on the main road out of Kabul to Jalalabad. Two of those killed were local staff working for the UN’s mission in Afghanistan. Elsewhere, a volley of attacks underscored the formidable challenge of staging the election in such a volatile and insecure country. Afghans go to the polls to elect a president tomorrow.
In southern Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed three Afghan soldiers and two civilians. In the east, a roadside bomb killed two US soldiers and wounded three.
In the north there were attacks in provinces rarely affected by Taliban violence, one resulting in the death of a candidate for a provincial council. A bomb in the east of the country killed three election workers and their driver.
Afghanistan authorities yesterday ordered western and domestic media to impose a blackout on coverage of violence during tomorrow's poll, saying it did not want Afghans to be too frightened to vote. Two decrees were issued, one banning all broadcasts of information about violence while polls were open, the other requiring reporters to keep away from the scene of any attacks. – ( Guardianservice; additional reporting Reuters)