Afghan Presidential Election: Blasts at Polling Stations Leaves Multiple Casualties

Two blasts and a rocket attack have marred the opening of Afghanistan’s presidential election.

Explosions and a rocket attack left two people dead and several others wounded in  Afghanistan on Saturday, hours after voting began to elect a new president.

A hospital official in the southern city of Kandahar said 15 people were injured in the first blast inside a mosque that was being used as a polling station.

A second explosion at a polling station in the Sorkh Rod district in eastern Nangarhar  left one person dead and three others wounded

Meanwhile, a rocket attack in Kunduz province killed an election observer, according to officials.

Saturday’s polls opened amid tight security due to threats from an insurgent Taliban.  But urnout is expected to be low after the Taliban ordered their fighters to disrupt the vote.

The war-torn country’s Ministry of Interior Affairs said 72,000 troops would be in place to protect 5,000 polling centers set up across Afghanistan.