Dozens killed in twin Taliban attacks ahead of Afghanistan presidential election

At least three people were reported killed on Tuesday, September 17 after an explosion rocked the Afghan capital Kabul ahead of the country’s upcoming presidential elections.

The interior ministry said the bomb went off in the center of Kabul, close to the defense ministry in the PD9 section of the city, Tolo News reported.

The heavily fortified area also houses the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters. Last week the Taliban killed 10 people, including Romanian and U.S. soldiers, with a vehicle bomb in the adjacent Shash Darak area.

Earlier Tuesday, at least 24 people were killed in another blast at a campaign rally in Parwan province in central Afghanistan claimed by the Taliban. Dozens more were reported injured in the suicide attack where President Ashraf Ghani was speaking. The president was not injured.

The Taliban has threatened attacks around the election, which is scheduled for September 28.

Talks between the Taliban and the United States fell apart in early September after more than a year of negotiations. The Afghan government was largely excluded from the talks and the insurgent group rejects it as a “puppet” of the U.S.

This is a developing story and will be updated.