Ten killed as Taliban tries to disrupt Afghan election Hundreds of polling stations stay closed, mainly due to security concerns

KABUL, Afghanistan — A string of attacks hit Afghanistan's parliamentary election Saturday, killing at least 10 people as the Taliban tried to disrupt a poll that is testing the credibility of the government and security forces.

Voters appeared hesitant to go to polling stations after a series of rocket strikes in provincial centers across the country, including one which landed near the U.S. embassy and the headquarters of NATO-led forces in central Kabul about three hours before polls opened at 7 a.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET).

Officials reported violence across the country. In the worst attack, police said the Taliban killed one Afghan soldier and six pro-government militiamen in a raid on a security outpost next to a polling station in northern Baghlan province.

Significant security failures would be a major setback, with Washington watching closely before U.S. President Barack Obama conducts a war strategy review in December likely to examine the pace and scale of U.S. troop withdrawals.

A poll flawed by violence and fraud would also weigh on Obama when his administration faces mid-term Congressional elections in November amid sagging public support for the war, with violence at its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted in 2001.

Saturday's election followed a similar pattern to last year's flawed 2009, which the Taliban also threatened but failed to disrupt significantly despite scores of attacks.

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) said 8 percent of the 5,816 polling centers had either not opened or not reported in, mainly because of security fears, IEC chairman Fazl Ahmad Manawi told a news conference. It had already decided not to open another 1,019 sites in light of a Taliban vow to disrupt voting.

Election's credibility at risk The attacks, and the number of polling stations that remained closed, raised fears about low voter turnout that could affect the outcome and credibility of the vote. "As in every election, we do hope that there will be a high voter turnout and that nobody will be deterred by security incidents," President Hamid Karzai told reporters after voting at a high school near the presidential palace in Kabul.

The election will "take the country many steps forward to a better future," Karzai said.

Rocket strikes in northern Takhar province and eastern Kunar killed three and wounded nine, officials said.

Two Afghan election observers were wounded by an explosion inside a polling center in eastern Khost province, a Taliban stronghold near the Pakistan border, local police chief Abdul Haqim Eshaqzai said.

Similar attacks on polling stations and government buildings were reported in Badakhshan and Kunduz in the north, Jalalabad in the east and Herat in the west.

"People are in their homes and they want to see the security situation. They will come out later and vote," Mohammad Omar, governor of Kunduz province, told Reuters. Four polling centers were closed after Taliban assaults in Logar, south of Kabul, and many stayed home after the Taliban threatened to cut off the ink-stained fingers of those who voted.

"I don't want to go and vote because of the Taliban's intimidation. I don't want to risk my life, just for a candidate," said a Logar resident named Naveed.

At least 24 people have been killed in election-related violence preceding the vote, including four candidates, according to observers.

In the past two days, Taliban militants abducted 18 election workers from a house in northern Bagdhis province, and a candidate was kidnapped in eastern Laghman province.