Friday, June 06, 2014

Afghan candidate Abdullah Abdullah survives Kabul bombs --- The front-runner in Afghan's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, has survived a suicide bomb attack targeted at his convoy in Kabul. -- Police told the BBC that six people were killed - including one of Mr Abdullah's body guards - and at least 22 injured when two blasts hit a rally. -- He appeared live on television to reassure his supporters that he was unharmed in the attack. -- The run-off round of the presidential election takes place next week. -- No group has said it carried out the attack but the Taliban have repeatedly threatened to target the poll campaign. -- The first blast was detonated by a suicide bomber in a car, a Kabul police spokesman told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary. -- The spokesman said the second explosion was probably caused by what he described as a "sticky bomb" but our correspondent says details about it are still unclear. -- The dead and injured include policemen and civilians. --- The attack took place as Mr Abdullah was leaving an election gathering in a wedding hall. -- Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos after two loud explosions were heard. Our correspondent says that Mr Abdullah and his colleagues narrowly escaped. -- "Thank God, we have not suffered any injuries.," Mr Abdullah told national television. "However, regrettably, a number of security guards were wounded. -- "Thank God, they are not in serious condition." --- His opponent in the run-off, Ashraf Ghani, voiced his condemnation of the attack on Twitter. -- The run-off is set to take place on 14 June after neither candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the vote needed for an outright victory after the first round of voting in April. -- The winner of next week's vote will preside over the withdrawal of coalition combat troops. - BBC, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27731116

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