Several explosions have sent voters fleeing from polling stations across the Afghan capital, Kabul, as the country holds long-delayed parliamentary elections. The Taliban has vowed to disrupt the vote.
Several casualties have been reported in explosions at polling stations across Afghanistan, following a Taliban warning for voters to boycott Saturday's legislative elections.
Technical issues meant many of the 5,100 polling stations remained closed all day, leaving voters frustrated.
How voting day has been marred:
One blast took place at a polling station at a school in the north of Kabul, sending voters running for cover. Two police officers and two civilians were injured.
Two other explosions near polling centers in Kabul have been confirmed by an interior ministry spokesman.
At least 30 people have been taken to a trauma hospital run by the Italian NGO Emergency, including a dead child.
Rockets fired from the outskirts of northern Kunduz city hit near polling stations, injuring several voters, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported.
Two other small attacks in northern Farah and Kunar provinces injured two women.
Taliban fighters ambushed and killed four local police in central Ghor province as they were making their way to a polling station, a local official told The Associated Press.
Several polling stations across the country stayed shut due to technical issues, including biometric systems, and the non-arrival of voter registration lists, officials said.
Hours into polling, Afghanistan's election commission said voting would be extended until 8 p.m. local time (1530 UTC) across much of the country. It said some polling stations, where election materials arrive late, would postpone voting until Sunday.
The provinces of Ghazni and Kandahar — the scene of Thursday's violent attack — have postponed polling for a week.
More to come...
