No casualties after blast apparently targets election workers in Afghanistan

As polling officials in Afghanistan began training today for the country's upcoming elections, the United Nations temporarily stopped road missions to Rodat District in Nangarhar province after a blast apparently targeted election workers there.

There were no casualties and only minor material damage when a vehicle of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) was hit by an improvised explosive device on Saturday, UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told reporters in Kabul today.

Citing preliminary reports, he said the device “had a remote-controlled system and it seems that it could have targeted this JEMB vehicle.”

The standard suspension of UN missions to the area will remain pending a complete assessment.

Measures to improve security are underway in Jalalabad, meanwhile, where the cantonment of heavy weapons was slated to start today. In that city and in Kabul, some 13,780 officers and soldiers have been disarmed, including 12,350 currently being reintegrated into civilian life, Mr. de Almeida e Silva said.