Afghan Election

Journalists Barred as Taliban Attacks

Rockets fired at presidential palace.

Violence and heated propaganda wars rocked Afghanistan on Tuesday, two days before the nation's presidential election. The New York Times reports that the Taliban unleashed a series of suicide bombings and a rocket attack at the presidential palace, while the government prohibited both foreign and domestic journalists from reporting on the violence. Over the last week, the Taliban has repeatedly warned that they will attack polling stations and those who vote in the election in an effort to undermine the election's credibility. The Times explains: "Low turnout, especially in the war-torn south, could affect Mr. Karzai's results in the election, since the ethnic Pashtuns who populate the south form his base of support." Karzai was in the palace at the time of the palace attack, but was not wounded.