Afghanistan: Roadside bomb blast kills 11 in Nangarhar’s Achin

Six children and a woman among victims of explosion in Achin district of Nangarhar, as Afghans vote for a second day.

Security forces gather following a deadly attack including a suspected suicide car bombing and gunbattles, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Tuesday, July 31, 2018. An Afghan provincial official said a coord
On Saturday, at least 36 people were killed in nearly 200 attacks across the country, including 27 civilians [File: AP]

At least 11 people, including six children and a woman, were killed in a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) blast in eastern Afghanistan, a provincial official said. 

The roadside bomb struck a vehicle on Sunday in the Nangarhar’s Mamand area of Achin district that was carrying civilians, Attahullah Khogyani, spokesperson for the provincial governor, told Al Jazeera.

No one immediately claimed the attack.

Attacks across the country have been reported as Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections were delayed and entered a second day on Sunday due to violence and technical issues.

 
 

On Saturday, the first day of polling, at least 36 people were killed in nearly 200 attacks across the country, including 27 civilians, according to Deputy Interior Minister Akhtar Mohammed Ibrahimi.

He said security forces killed 31 fighters in gun battles. The Taliban had vowed to attack and disrupt the election.

There are 21,000 voting stations in 5,100 polling centres across the country’s 33 participating provinces.

The election was delayed by a week in the southern province of Kandahar following the killing on Thursday of powerful police chief General Abdul Raziq in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

Voting will also not take place in Ghazni because of the precarious security situation – the Taliban controls significant parts of the province. There is also an ongoing dispute over how to divide Ghazni’s electoral constituencies to have a more balanced ethnic representation.

Since late September, when campaigning officially started, at least 10 candidates have killed and two others abducted.

The electoral commission has not set a timeline for announcing official results, but preliminary results are expected within a month.

Source: Al Jazeera