KABUL — Less than a month before the presidential election, Taliban fighters wearing suicide vests attacked a provincial capital Saturday, triggering battles that killed seven militants. U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said it is “extraordinary” to hold an election during a war.
The assault in Khost began when at least six Taliban fighters carrying AK-47s and rocket- propelled grenades stormed the area around the main police station and a nearby government-run bank.
All were shot and killed before they could detonate their suicide vests, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
A seventh attacker wounded two officers after detonating a car rigged with explosives, the ministry said.
Holbrooke said the Aug. 20 vote faces “many complex challenges,” including security issues and access to polls for women. Authorities need a respectable turnout for the results to appear credible.
Holbrooke met separately with President Hamid Karzai and two challengers, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani. The Associated Press
