Blast at election rally in Afghanistan's Takhar province kills 22, President Ashraf Ghani condemns attack

Kabul: The death toll in Saturday’s election rally explosion in Afghanistan’s Takhar province has risen to 22. The latest death toll was confirmed by Takhar governor spokesman Mohammad Jawad Hijri, TOLOnews reported. Earlier, 12 people died and 32 others were injured after a motorcycle bomb went off during the campaign rally of an Afghan Parliament member, Nazifa Beg, in Rustaq district of the province. Two security personnel were among those killed in the blast, according to the provincial police. [caption id=“attachment_4446145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of President Ashraf Ghani. Reuters[/caption] In a statement, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying that “the enemies of Afghans cannot weaken the will of the nation for the success of the democratic process of elections”. Ahead of the Parliamentary elections in the war-torn country scheduled for 20 October, there has been a spurt in election violence in different parts of the country. Saturday’s explosion was the third such attack targeting a campaign rally. On 9 October, eight people, including a parliamentary candidate, died in a suicide attack at a campaign office in Helmand province. In Nangarhar, 14 people were killed in an election rally blast on 3 October.