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Afghan candidate Abdullah Abdullah survives Kabul bombs | Afghan candidate Abdullah Abdullah survives Kabul bombs |
(35 minutes later) | |
The front-runner in Afghan's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, has survived a suicide bomb attack targeted at his convoy in Kabul. | |
Police say two civilians were killed and several injured when two blasts hit a rally. Mr Abdullah says some of his bodyguards were among the injured. | |
He appeared live on television to reassure his supporters that he was unharmed in the attack. | |
The run-off round of the presidential election takes place next week. | The run-off round of the presidential election takes place next week. |
No group has said it carried out the attack but the Taliban have repeatedly threatened to target the poll campaign. | No group has said it carried out the attack but the Taliban have repeatedly threatened to target the poll campaign. |
The first blast was detonated by a suicide bomber in a car, a Kabul police spokesman told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary. | The first blast was detonated by a suicide bomber in a car, a Kabul police spokesman told the BBC's Bilal Sarwary. |
The spokesman said the second explosion was probably caused by what he described as a "sticky bomb" but our correspondent says details about it are still unclear. | |
The attack took place as Mr Abdullah was leaving an election gathering in a wedding hall. | |
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos after two loud explosions were heard. Our correspondent says that Mr Abdullah and his colleagues narrowly escaped. | |
"Thank God, we have not suffered any injuries.," Mr Abdullah told national television. "However, regrettably, a number of security guards were wounded. | |
"Thank God, they are not in serious condition." | |
Pictures from the scene show a plume of smoke rising into the air. | Pictures from the scene show a plume of smoke rising into the air. |
His opponent in the run-off, Ashraf Ghani, voiced his condemnation of the attack on Twitter. | His opponent in the run-off, Ashraf Ghani, voiced his condemnation of the attack on Twitter. |
The run-off is set to take place on 14 June after neither candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the vote needed for an outright victory after the first round of voting in April. | The run-off is set to take place on 14 June after neither candidate managed to secure more than 50% of the vote needed for an outright victory after the first round of voting in April. |