A string of attacks hit Afghanistan's parliamentary election today, after the Taliban vowed to disrupt a poll that is a crucial test for the credibility of the government and security forces.
Voters appeared hesitant to go to polling stations after a series of rocket strikes in provincial centres across the country, as well as one which landed near the US embassy and the headquarters of NATO-led forces in central Kabul about three hours before polls opened at 7 am (4.30am Irish time).
Two Afghan election observers were wounded by an explosion inside a polling center in eastern Khost province, a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistan border police said.
In terms of violence, the early pace was similar to that of the flawed 2009 presidential election.
Significant security failures would be a major setback, with Washington watching closely before US President Barack Obama conducts a war strategy review in December likely to examine the pace and scale of US troop withdrawals.
A policeman was wounded earlier when a rocket landed near a government compound in Ghazni city, southwest of Kabul. At least three other rockets landed in Ghazni province, police said.
Similar attacks on polling stations and government buildings were
reported in Badakhshan and Kunduz in the north, Jalalabad and Khost in the east and in Herat in the west.
The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the poll and urged potential voters to stay at home even as President Hamid Karzai called on Afghans to come out and vote.
"As in every election, we do hope that there will be a high voter turnout and that nobody will be deterred by security incidents," Mr Karzai told reporters after casting his ballot at a high school near the presidential palace in Kabul.