Taliban kill 48 in Afghanistan before election

(PTI) Kabul, September 17, 2019, Tuesday

The Taliban carried out two suicide attacks on Tuesday, killing 48 and injuring dozens, ahead of the presidential election in Afghanistan. The Taliban attacked a suicide bombing at a presidential election rally in Kabul. He also warned of further infiltration and violence in Afghanistan ahead of the elections.

The Taliban launched its first attack on President Ashraf Ghani's rally in central Parish province, north of Kabul. The attack left 26 dead and more than 42 injured. A suicide bomber blew himself up on a motorcycle at a checkpoint on the way to the rally while President Ashraf Ghani was addressing a rally.

Only a moment after the attack, Taliban attacked near the American Embassy in central Kabul. The agency initially declined to disclose the exact casualty figures for the attack, but said back that 22 people were killed and more than 38 were injured in the attack.

US President Donald Trump has halted talks with the Taliban in a hurry earlier this month. After the US President arrived in Kabul to negotiate with the Taliban, following a raid on American forces, Trump hastily decided to cancel the talks.

Taking responsibility for the two attacks, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack near the Guinea rally was intended to disrupt the September 28 election. We warned people not to participate in election rallies. President Ghani was addressing his supporters at the time of the attack. However, he was not injured.

He criticized the Taliban for the attack. On the other hand, the Taliban have threatened further attacks ahead of the elections in the coming days. Criticizing the Taliban, President Ghani said the attacks showed that the Taliban did not believe in peace and stability.

The United Nations also criticized the Taliban for not violating citizens' lives and for violating basic human rights to participate in the democratic process. On the first day of the presidential election campaign in Afghanistan in July, more than 20 people were killed in suicide attacks targeting Ashraf Ghani's colleague Amrullah Saleh's Kabul office.