A provincial council candidate and nine of his supporters were killed by the Taliban in Afghanistan two days after they were kidnapped, said Sakhidad Haidari, deputy police chief of northern Sar-e-Pul province. The 10 were kidnapped Sunday and shot dead Tuesday night, Haidari told CNN on Wednesday. The bodies of four of those killed, including the Sar-e-Pul election candidate, Hussain Nazari, have been returned to police, he said. The other six remain in the hands of the Taliban. The Taliban have not commented on the incident, which comes ahead of presidential and provincial elections to be held Saturday. In a separate incident Wednesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance gate to the Interior Ministry in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, killing six Afghan police officers, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.
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NATO chief praises work of Afghan security forces, says overall violence has fallen
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The Taliban kill a provincial council candidate and nine supporters, police say
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In Kabul, a suicide bomber kills six Afghan policemen at Interior Ministry gate, official says
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The Taliban have vowed to disrupt April 5 elections and punish those involved in them
"As expected, we have seen a series of attacks including on @placeholder today -- an attack which I strongly condemn -- but I welcome that the Afghan people have resisted these intimidation attempts," he said.