Blast near Election Commission office in Afghanistan kills 2

At least two people were killed and four others wounded in a suicide attack during a protest near the Election Commission office in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province on Saturday, officials said. The attack occurred around 11.20 a.m. when an attacker blew himself up during the protest in the provincial capital of Jalalabad, Nangarhar governor’s spokesperson Attaullah Khogyanai told Efe news.

He said that the injured were transferred to a hospital and were in serious condition. The protest was held over the disqualification of candidate Jawid Zaman by the poll body ahead of the parliamentary as well as local elections scheduled for October 20, Khogyanai added. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. The electoral process for the parliamentary elections have been targeted by insurgents since the voter registration process commenced on April 14. The most significant one occurred on April 22, when a suicide attack targeting a voting centre in Kabul left 60 dead and 138 wounded. It was claimed by the Islamic State.

Afghanistan is going through one of its bloodiest phases since the end of NATO’s combat mission in January 2015.

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