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Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's aides assassinated
Source: Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's aides assassinated - The Times of IndiaKABUL: Gunmen shot dead two assistants of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah on Saturday night, the eve of the official election campaign, officials said.
The attack came as the country prepares for its first ever democratic transfer of power, with the election viewed as a key test for the 350,000-strong Afghan security forces.
"I can confirm that armed men killed Dr Hamdard who was to lead our election campaign team in Herat, along with another team member in Herat city this evening," Sayed Fazel Sangcharaki, a spokesman for the Abdullah said.
Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, a police spokesman in the western city of Herat confirmed the incident.
"Unfortunately two people, namely Ahmad Hamdard and Shujahideen were killed in the fourth district of Herat city this evening. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on them in the middle of the street," he said.
The police spokesman only gave one name for the second victim. Sangcharaki said Hamdard had worked with Abdullah during the last presidential campaign in 2009, and lamented the lack of security given to his campaign by the government.
"This incident at the beginning of election campaign is a bad sign as either the security forces are incapable of providing security for the election campaign or they do not take their job seriously," he said.
Taliban insurgents have threatened to target the campaign, and the Afghan police and army face a major challenge with little support from the dwindling number of Nato troops.
The interior ministry hopes to open 6,431 of the 6,845 polling centres, though fear of insurgent violence could keep turnout low.
Only about one-third of registered voters cast their ballots last time — significantly lower than previous elections — and the turnout may decline further.
Abdullah, a suave opposition leader who came second to Karzai in the chaotic and fraud-riddled 2009 election, is seen as a favourite this time around.
He was a member of Burhanuddin Rabbani's government before the austere Taliban era, which ended in 2001, and was also a close aide to Ahmad Shah Massoud, the legendary commander of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance militia.
A qualified eye surgeon, he was born in Kabul to an ethnic Pashtun father from Kandahar and a Tajik mother.
Afghanistan's election campaign kicks off on Sunday, with 11 candidates vying to succeed President Hamid Karzai as the country enters an uncertain new era without the aid of Nato combat troops to fight the Taliban.
A dispute between Kabul and Washington over whether a small force of US soldiers stays behind beyond 2014 is likely to dominate the two-month campaign.
