•Voters were mutilated by the Taliban in Herat after casting their ballots
•So far, 20 civilians and one election worker have been killed in attacks
•Officials believe seven million out of 12 million eligible electors voted
The Taliban cut off the fingers of 11 people as punishment for voting in Afghanistan’s presidential election.
The barbaric attacks were in the western Herat province after Saturday’s vote, according to police. In violence marring the poll, another 47 people died in a series of rocket barrages and scattered attacks.
Interior minister Mohammad Umar Daudzai said the victims included 20 civilians and an election worker. He added that 60 militants were killed.
The Taliban had ordered voters not to participate in the contest between former ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
Both plan to improve ties with the West and keep nearly 10,000 US troops in the country for two more years.
Officials said more than seven million out of 12million eligible Afghans voted. The first round on April 5 saw a similar turnout and the final result is due on July 22.
Afghans braved threats of violence and searing heat Saturday to vote in the presidential runoff, which likely will mark the country’s first peaceful transfer of authority, an important step toward democracy as foreign combat troops leave.
The Taliban warned people in Afghanistan to boycott the country’s presidential election or face punishment, in Herat, these men had their index finger’s amputated for ignoring the terror threat
Abdullah, who emerged as the front-runner with 45 percent of the vote in the first round, faced Ahmadzai, an ex-World Bank official. Neither garnered the majority needed to win outright, but previous candidates and their supporters have since offered endorsements to each, making the final outcome unpredictable.
The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan condemned the mutilations in Herat. ‘Like millions of their countrymen and women, these ordinary Afghans were exercising their fundamental right to determine the future path of their country through voting and not through violence and intimidation. By their vote, they already defeated those who promote terror and violence,’ said Jan Kubis, the U.N. special representative.
Afghanistan was relatively quiet the day after the second round of voting as the process of counting the votes began. Official preliminary results were to be announced on July 2, with final results released on July 22. The commission plans to release partial results in the coming weeks.
The voting was relatively peaceful despite a series of rocket barrages and other scattered attacks that Interior Minister Mohammad Umar Daudzai said killed 47 people, including 20 civilians and an election commission worker. He said 60 militants were killed.
Later on Saturday a minibus hit an improvised explosive device in the northern Samangan province, with the blast killing six women, one child and four men in the provincial capital Aybak, said Sediq Azizi, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Azizi said four of the victims were employees of the election commission, which organized Saturday’s vote. It was not immediately clear if they were the target of the explosion.
In the southern Kandahar province police said they raided a building on Sunday that had been occupied by the Taliban the day before, setting off clashes in which police shot dead two would-be suicide bombers but were unable to prevent another two from blowing themselves up, killing three policemen and wounding another two.
Gen. Abdul Razeq Achakzai, Kandahar’s provincial police chief, said his forces had surrounded the building on Saturday but waited to move in until after the voting ended.
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