<p>: A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a Western military convoy in the Afghan capital on Tuesday and a Taliban rocket hit the presidential palace grounds just two days before incumbent Hamid Karzai seeks re-election. <br /><br />Tolo television quoted officials at an Afghan military hospital as saying that two people were killed and 16 wounded, while police detective Abdul Ghafar Sayed-Zada said the target appeared to be a Western military food convoy, although most of the casualties were civilian bystanders. <br /><br />With Karzai fighting to win a fresh mandate without a second round run-off, the election is also a test of US President Barack Obama’s strategy of escalating the 8-year-old conflict in an effort to reverse recent Taliban gains. <br /><br />In a speech on Monday aimed at bolstering public support, Obama called the Afghan conflict “a war worth fighting”. <br /><br />The Taliban militants have vowed to step up that fight and disrupt the poll with violence that could damage the election’s legitimacy by cutting turnout. <br /><br />Several small rockets were fired on Monday night at the capital and a police source said one caused some damage inside the sprawling, fortified presidential palace compound and a second hit the capital’s police headquarters. Neither caused any casualties. <br />In Uruzgan province in the south, a suicide bomber on foot struck a police checkpoint, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians. A provincial council candidate, meanwhile, was shot dead in the northern Jowzjan province. <br /><br />Hectic rallies<br /><br />Election campaigning officially ended on Monday midnight after a final day that saw hectic rallies in support of Karzai and his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. <br /><br />Polls show Karzai likely to win Thursday’s vote, but not with the outright majority required to avoid a second round in six weeks. <br /><br />Hamid Karzai’s reliance on the ex-militia leaders has raised alarm among his international backers worried that warlords could return to power in the country they dominated for decades. <br /></p>
<p>: A suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a Western military convoy in the Afghan capital on Tuesday and a Taliban rocket hit the presidential palace grounds just two days before incumbent Hamid Karzai seeks re-election. <br /><br />Tolo television quoted officials at an Afghan military hospital as saying that two people were killed and 16 wounded, while police detective Abdul Ghafar Sayed-Zada said the target appeared to be a Western military food convoy, although most of the casualties were civilian bystanders. <br /><br />With Karzai fighting to win a fresh mandate without a second round run-off, the election is also a test of US President Barack Obama’s strategy of escalating the 8-year-old conflict in an effort to reverse recent Taliban gains. <br /><br />In a speech on Monday aimed at bolstering public support, Obama called the Afghan conflict “a war worth fighting”. <br /><br />The Taliban militants have vowed to step up that fight and disrupt the poll with violence that could damage the election’s legitimacy by cutting turnout. <br /><br />Several small rockets were fired on Monday night at the capital and a police source said one caused some damage inside the sprawling, fortified presidential palace compound and a second hit the capital’s police headquarters. Neither caused any casualties. <br />In Uruzgan province in the south, a suicide bomber on foot struck a police checkpoint, killing three Afghan soldiers and two civilians. A provincial council candidate, meanwhile, was shot dead in the northern Jowzjan province. <br /><br />Hectic rallies<br /><br />Election campaigning officially ended on Monday midnight after a final day that saw hectic rallies in support of Karzai and his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah. <br /><br />Polls show Karzai likely to win Thursday’s vote, but not with the outright majority required to avoid a second round in six weeks. <br /><br />Hamid Karzai’s reliance on the ex-militia leaders has raised alarm among his international backers worried that warlords could return to power in the country they dominated for decades. <br /></p>