INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
and wounded 119 outside a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday in the latest attack on election preparations.The
assaults underscore growing concerns about security in the lead-up to legislative elections scheduled for October 20, which are seen as a
taken, with relatives criticising the Afghan government for failing to protect their loved ones."Our patience is running out
This government should take responsibility for the lives of all these innocent people lost every day," a man called Hussain, whose cousin
was wounded in the blast, told AFP."Nobody will go to vote anymore."The health ministry gave the latest toll for the attack, which was
ministry spokesman Najib Danish said earlier.The centre in a heavily Shiite-populated neighbourhood in the west of the city was also being
used by people to register for national identification certificates, which they need in order to sign up to vote."I found myself covered in
blood, with dead people -- women and children -- around me," said Ali Rasuli, who had been standing in a queue outside the centre when he
saw a "fireball" in front of him
pools of blood on the street near badly damaged cars -- grim evidence of the force of the blast."This senseless violence shows the cowardice
and inhumanity of the enemies of democracy and peace in Afghanistan," US ambassador John Bass wrote on Twitter
NATO and the United Nations also condemned the bombing
holiday and killed at least 33 people
don't know where my daughters are
to get armed and protect ourselves."Elsewhere, a roadside explosion in the northern province of Baghlan on Sunday killed six people,
been tasked with protecting polling centres, even as they struggle to get the upper hand against insurgents on the battlefield.Militants on
Friday launched rockets at a voter registration centre in the northwestern province of Badghis, killing a police officer and wounding
authorities hope to register up to 14 million adults at more than 7,000 polling centres for the parliamentary and district council
Persian New Year attack a tense calm had permeated the Afghan capital as people brace for the Taliban's launch of its customary spring
offensive.The Taliban are under pressure to take up Ghani's peace offer made in February but so far the group has given only a muted
response.Some Western and Afghan officials expect 2018 to be a particularly bloody year.General John Nicholson, the top US and NATO
commander in Afghanistan, told Tolo TV last month that he expected the Taliban to carry out more suicide attacks this fighting
season.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
