4 killed in blast near Abdullah’s campaign office

KABUL (Pajhwok): At least two policemen and as many election workers were killed and several others wounded on Monday when a motorcycle bomb went off in western Herat province, officials said.

The explosion occurred in Rubat Sangi district around noon, provincial police chief Brig. Gen. Samiullah Qatra told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said four policemen and as many civilians injured in the blast were instantly taken to hospital. The blast took place when a campaign rally for presidential runner Dr. Abdulla Abdullah was ongoing near his campaign office.  

Doctors at the zonal hospital said they had been delivered two bodies and eight injured people from the scene. They said the wounded were in stable condition.

The bomb-rigged motorcycle was exploded in front of presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah’s campaign office, where a gathering was ongoing, the office said in a statement. Two office guards died and four workers were injured in the blast, it said.

It said the injured were being treated at hospital, saying they condemned the attack. The statement urged security forces to tighten security measures around campaign offices because efforts at disrupting political activities had increased.

The Taliban on Monday warned they would disrupt the elections and asked the Afghans to stay away from the ballot.

Previously, an election campaigner for Abdullah was killed in the Almar district of Faryab in a bomb attack that followed a gun attack that left two of Abdullah’s supporters dead in Herat City on the first day of the election campaign.

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