Bloody Tuesday: Attacks in Afghanistan kill 48

KABUL, Afghanistan — Separate attacks by suicide bombers — one targeting President Ashraf Ghani’s election rally and a second that ripped through the center of the Afghan capital — killed at least 48 people and wounded scores more Tuesday in the deadliest single day since a peace agreement with Taliban insurgents was declared dead.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both blasts, saying an explosives-laden motorcycle targeted Ghani’s election rally being held on the outskirts of Charakar in northern Parwan province. Ghani was present but unhurt, his campaign chief said. In that explosion, 26 people were killed, according to Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Four among the dead were Afghan military personnel, he said. Another 42 people were wounded, many of them women and children.

In the second bombing, just hours later in the heart of Kabul not far from the U.S. Embassy, the Taliban said they were targeting an Afghan army base. They killed 22 people, government officials said. Scores more were wounded.

The violence comes as Afghanistan faces presidential elections on Sept. 28 — a vote the Taliban vehemently oppose. The insurgent group has warned Afghans not to vote in the election and said their fighters would target election campaigns as well as polling stations.

The bomber who attacked Ghani’s rally detonated his explosives at the entrance to the rally, according to Hamed Aziz, a spokesman form Ghani’s campaign office. But Aziz said the explosion occurred some distance from where Ghani was addressing a crowd of about 2,200.

Ghani condemned both attacks.

“By continuing their crimes, the Taliban have once again proven that they have no will and desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan and that all their movements are nothing but deceit,” Ghani was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidential palace.

There were many women and children among the casualties in the bombing near Ghani’s rally, said a local physician.

Associated Press ■ Afghan security forces work at the site of a suicide attack Tuesday near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Hours earlier Afghan officials said a suicide bomber rammed his motorcycle packed with explosives into the entrance to a campaign rally of President Ashraf Ghani in northern Parwan province. Ghani was present at the venue but was unharmed. The Taliban has claimed both attacks.