Afghan parliamentary candidates targeted by Taliban

In two separate incidents, an Afghan parliamentary candidate and five members of another candidate’s campaign office were killed in Herat Province which borders Iran.

Abdolmanan Hashemi, a parliamentary candidate was killed last night as killed on his way to the mosque in Shindand town by unidentified gunmen.

Following the incident, local authorities also reported that the bodies of five members of Fouzieh Gilani’s campaign office were found in a remote area in Aderskan town in Heart.

These individuals were captured by Taliban last week on their way to Farsi town from Aderskan.

Governor of Aderskan reported that the victims were shot in the head and were possibly killed yesterday.

Earlier another Afghan parliamentary candidate in Golran town in northern Herat was kidnapped but was released in a week after pressure from the people. In another incident, the brother of a candidate in Robat Sangi was killed.

Taliban has condemned the parliamentary elections that will take place within three weeks calling it a US plot that should be confronted.

2500 people, many of them women, are running in the elections. The Afghanistan parliament has 249 seats and runs in five year sessions.