On election eve, Kabul blast rocks embassy

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A loud explosion rattled the Afghan capital near the US Embassy early today, prompting American officials to order diplomatic staff to take shelter in an underground bunker.

Lieutenant Commander Ken MacKillop, a spokesman for international peacekeepers, said it was not clear what caused the blast, which came a day before the start of national elections.

''We are alert and investigating," he said.

There was no immediate word of any injuries or damage. Heavily armed US and Afghan troops sealed off the roads leading to the diplomatic area.

Beth Lee, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy, said staff had been ordered to take cover in an underground bunker.

The blast shattered a relatively calm lead-up to tomorrow's vote, at least in the capital. It was loud enough to shake windows and rouse people from their beds.

The headquarters for the 9,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is also close to the US Embassy, as are the German and Pakistani missions.

It was the first apparent attack in Kabul since Aug. 28, when a huge car bomb outside a private US security firm in Kabul killed 10 people -- three of them Americans.

The Americans were helping train anti-narcotics police.

Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels have kept up a steady stream of attacks throughout Afghanistan since campaigning for the election began Sept. 7, but they have so far failed to launch the type of high-impact assault that might derail the vote.

Afghanistan's Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said yesterday that Afghan forces had thwarted at least 20 attacks and arrested more than 100 people since the start of the campaign, but that the rebels had managed more than 60 rocket or bomb attacks during the period, most in the provinces.

He put the death toll at more than 60 -- including 15 civilians, 19 security forces, and 30 suspected rebels. In addition, six Afghan troops were taken hostage.

Meanwhile, the government said that drug smugglers -- not the Taliban -- were behind an attack on interim leader Hamid Karzai's vice presidential running mate.

One man was killed and five people were wounded in Wednesday's bombing, including the former governor of Badakhshan, a mountainous northeastern poppy-growing region.

Karzai's running mate, Ahmed Zia Massood, was unhurt.

Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said ''the evidence shows that it was the work of drug smugglers, because [the election] is against their interests."

Karzai is widely expected to win tomorrow's election, and he has said he will use his power as president to crack down on drug barons and warlords. He has 15 rivals, after two minor candidates withdrew Wednesday and threw their support behind Karzai.

Still, it remains to be seen whether Karzai will be able to reach the 50 percent majority necessary to avoid a runoff, which could take weeks to organize and carries with it the threat of more violence.

Some 10.5 million Afghans registered to vote out of an estimated population of 25 million. The country has not had a reliable census in decades.

Karzai praised his people for embracing the elections, despite the bloodshed. He acknowledged problems of rebel violence and warlord intimidation -- even some being carried out in his name -- but said Afghanistan could not wait forever for a vote.