WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Karzai widens lead in Afghan vote
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-27 09:39

Most of the victims were ordinary Afghan civilians, like Mohammad Masoom, 26, a tailor whose shop was near the blast site. His father, Mohammad Yusuf, discovered his son's body at hospital and condemned the "cruel people" behind the bombing. His other son was wounded in the blast.

"They killed my son, and so many innocent people. I don't know what these people want," Yusuf said, weeping.

The Interior Ministry said the blast was from remote-controlled explosives planted in a truck, although local officials had said earlier a cluster of five vehicle bombs caused the blast.

The Taliban on Wednesday denied any responsibility for the attack in Kandahar - the Islamist movement's spiritual home. It often denies involvement in attacks that kill civilians.

"We are denying responsibility, and condemn this attack in which innocent civilians were killed," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi wrote in a text message sent to an Associated Press reporter.

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Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said Afghan security forces, supported by NATO troops, would conduct a search operation and try to have suspects in custody within 72 hours.

Kandahar lies in a swath of southern Afghanistan dominated by Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group from which the Taliban derives its support and recruits.

But it is also a crucial electoral battleground, particularly for Karzai, who as a Pashtun and a Kandahar native, is expected to perform well there.

The presidential returns announced Wednesday are based on partial results from 28 of the 34 provinces, but few votes have been counted from Kandahar and no votes from neighboring Helmand province, two areas that would boost Karzai's totals.

Ramazan Bashardost - a candidate likely to come in third in the election - stood up at Wednesday's news conference and told officials they were breaking the law by announcing results before the Electoral Complaints Commission carries out its work.

The head of the Independent Election Commission, Daoud Ali Najafi, said all procedures were in accordance with the law, which stipulates that final "certified" results cannot be released until the complaints commission finishes its work.

The complaints commission has received more than 1,400 complaints, more than 150 of which could affect the vote's outcome, said spokeswoman Nellika Little.

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