Taliban Suicide Bomber Hits Military Bus in Kabul --- Blast Comes as Afghanistan Struggles to Overcome a Political Crisis Sparked by Disputed Election -- KABUL—A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a military bus carrying Afghan troops in Kabul, a reminder of the militant group's strength as the country struggles to overcome a political crisis sparked by a disputed election. -- At around 7 a.m. Wednesday, the suicide bomber approached a parked Afghan Air Force bus on foot just as troops were boarding, blowing himself up next to the door, said Hashmat Stanikzai, a police spokesman. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed eight troops and one civilian, and injured 16 people. -- The explosion, which partly charred the bus and shattered its windows, took place close to the Ministry of Agriculture, near Kabul University. -- Targeting parked military vehicles isn't a new strategy for the Taliban. In January, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan army minivan in west Kabul, killing two soldiers and two civilians. -- Wednesday's attack shook Kabul as the country is grappling with a political impasse over last month's presidential runoff election. -- Afghanistan's election commission said on Wednesday it wouldn't disclose preliminary results as planned, postponing the release until Monday to allow more time to address allegations of fraud. -- Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said he believes massive ballot-stuffing took place on behalf of his rival, former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, and said he won't accept the results of the vote count. He also accused some election officials of colluding against him to fix the vote. -- In the first round in April, Mr. Abdullah won 45% of the vote, against Mr. Ghani's 31.6%. Now, both camps estimate that Mr. Ghani has a lead of over a million votes—an outcome Mr. Abdullah is rejecting as fraudulent. -- Mr. Ghani said he doesn't believe wide-scale fraud took place, attributing his showing to his team's more effective mobilization of voters. He has urged Mr. Abdullah to end his boycott of the vote and to respect Afghanistan's election bodies. --- Yusuf Nuristani, the commission's chairman, on Wednesday told reporters the results have been delayed "in order to ensure the full transparency of the second round of the election." He announced the commission will review votes from 1,930 polling centers across the country it suspects are fraudulent, focusing on areas where the turnout was unusually high. -- Mr. Abdullah has demanded a stricter auditing of the votes before the release of preliminary results, and for the United Nations to play a more hands-on role in mediating between the two campaign teams and with the election commission—requests that have partly been met. -- "If both candidates reach an agreement through political consensus, it will be in the interest of the country," added Mr. Nuristani. -- Mr. Abdullah said he hopes this delay will allow discussions between the two camps on how to break the deadlock. "Now the door is open," Mr. Abdullah said in an interview. "It's an open agenda on the basis that we are two candidates, not a winner and a loser. But nothing can lead to a political agreement until we take care of the fraudulent ballots." -- Mr. Ghani said he is willing to engage in talks so long as Afghanistan's election bodies are respected. "We have a common commitment to the stability and prosperity of this country. We don't need any mediation. I am willing to meet Dr. Abdullah any time and place through an Afghan process," Mr. Ghani told reporters Wednesday. -- Once the preliminary results are out, the country's election watchdog, the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission, has until late July to further review ballots that may be fraudulent. Only after that will the results be official. - More, WSJ, http://online.wsj.com/articles/taliban-shatter-kabul-calm-1404289361