Afghanistan News Updates -- April 2, 2014

Afghan policemen take up a position outside the Interior Ministry in Kabul after a suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday, killing himself and at least six policemen. REUTERS

Afghanistan: Taliban Blamed For Fresh Violence Ahead Of Elections -- CNN

Kabul (CNN) -- A provincial council candidate and nine of his supporters were killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan two days after they were kidnapped, said Sakhidad Haidari, deputy police chief of northern Sar-e-Pul province.

The 10 were kidnapped Sunday and shot dead Tuesday night, Haidari told CNN on Wednesday.

The bodies of four of those killed, including the Sar-e-Pul election candidate, Hussain Nazari, have been returned to police, he said. The other six remain in the hands of the Taliban.

The Taliban have not commented on the incident, which comes ahead of presidential and provincial elections to be held Saturday.

Read more ....

Afghanistan News Updates -- April 2, 2014

Bomber Kills Six at Interior Ministry Entrance in Kabul -- New York Times
Blast kills 6 at Afghan Interior Ministry compound -- Washington Post/AP
Suicide Blast at Afghan Interior Ministry Kills 6 -- Voice of America
Suicide Bomber Kills at Least Six in Kabul -- Wall Street Journal

Afghanistan election candidates raise fears over widespread fraud -- The Guardian
In Afghan election, compromises and concerns of fraud -- Washington Post
Afghans line up for last-minute voter registration -- Washington Post/AP
Afghan Women See Hope in the Ballot Box -- New York Times
Security Lockdown In Kabul As Election Day Nears -- Radio Free Europe
To Protect Foreigners, Afghanistan Shuts Down Their Hangouts -- New York Times

For first month in years, no U.S. forces die in Afghanistan -- CNN
Pentagon: No US deaths in Afghanistan in March -- AP
March Was First Month Without U.S. Fatalities in Iraq or Afghanistan In 11 Years -- Time
U.S. Closes 290 Bases In Afghanistan, Less Than 33,000 Troops Left -- Army Times

Retail politics, Afghanistan-style: how two front-runners woo voters -- Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor
Afghanistan's Next President Will Be ... -- NPR
What if the Afghan elections actually work? -- Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst
Rigging the Afghan Vote -- Anand Gopal, New Yorker
Alliances realign as latest superpower pulls out of Afghanistan -- Jason Burke in Delhi and Jon Boone, The Guardian