3 NATO Soldiers, 18 Afghanis Killed in Attacks, Taliban Movement Opposes New Elections

Three NATO soldiers, 18 Taliban, reported dead in Afghan fighting

Posted : Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:58:43 GMT
By dpa, Earth Times

Kabul -

Three NATO soldiers and 18 Taliban fighters died in fighting in Afghanistan on Friday and Saturday, according to a NATO statement released Saturday.

The fighting comes as Afghanistan prepares for a new round of elections next month to decide the final outcome of widely discredited balloting in August that seemed to give an edge to incumbent President Hamid Karzai.

A NATO soldier was killed in firefight, while two US service members were killed in a roadside bombing, the alliance said in a statement. Both incidents took place on Friday in the country's southern region.

Afghan defence ministry and NATO military also said Saturday that their forces killed up to 18 Taliban fighters in the north-eastern province of Kapisa and the southern province of Kandahar over the past 24 hours.

Taliban call for Afghan vote boycott, threaten violence

Sat Oct 24, 2009, 2:58 am ET

KABUL (AFP) –

The Taliban Movement called on Saturday for a boycott of the upcoming run-off in Afghanistan's presidential election and threatened violence against anyone who participates.

"The Islamic emirate (of Afghanistan) once again informs all the people that no one should participate in this American process and should boycott the process," said a Taliban statement emailed to AFP.

"The mujahideen are fully prepared to defeat this process," it said, adding: "Anyone who participates and gets hurt will be responsible for their own losses."

Afghanistan's fraud-tainted first-round presidential election on August 20 was hit by a vicious Taliban campaign that has been blamed for keeping turnout below 40 percent.

Afghans are due to vote again on November 7 after President Hamid Karzai agreed earlier this week to a second round run-off against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah following fraud investigations.

Almost one million of Karzai's share of the preliminary results -- around one-third of all votes cast for him -- were eliminated for fraud, cutting his lead to below the 50 percent threshold needed for outright victory.

The Taliban statement, the first reaction to the run-off announcement, confirms fears that security will be a major issue for a successful second-round ballot.

Almost 200 attacks around the first vote were attributed to the Taliban, including amputations of fingers marked with purple ink as proof of voting, and rocket and grenade attacks on polling stations.

While turnout across the country was kept to below 40 percent, in southern regions where Taliban presence is strongest, such as Kandahar and Helmand provinces, turnout was just five to ten percent.

Speculation persists that Karzai and Abdullah could reach a deal that will negate the need for the run-off, as US envoy Richard Holbrooke said Friday he expected fewer problems this time round than last.

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