Jalalabad:The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS have claimed responsibility of the dastardly attack in an election campaign rally in eastern Nangarhar Province on Tuesday killing 13 and wounding dozens via its Amaq news agency. Both the Taliban and fighters with the Afghan affiliate of the IS group are active in the province, said a report in RFE/RL.
Earlier, Attaullah Khoyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, said the attacker targeted a campaign rally held by Nasir Momand, a parliamentary candidate in the Kama district."Most of the people killed or wounded are elders who had gathered for the campaign rally," Khoyani said.
Momand is running as an independent candidate in Afghanistan's parliamentary elections, which are scheduled for October 20. More than 2,500 candidates will contest the ballot, which is seen as a test run for next year's presidential election. But preparations for the vote have been in turmoil for months.
Five candidates have been already killed in separate attacks before the campaigning officially started, two in Kabul and one each in Nangarhar, southern Kandahar, and northern Parwan province.
According to electoral officials so far two candidates have been abducted and their fates remain unknown, while three others have been wounded in attacks.More than 2,000 polling centres that were supposed to open will be closed for security reasons.(UNI)