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KABUL, Afghanistan – With a little over two weeks to go before Afghanistan holds its parliamentary elections, an election rally in the eastern province of Nangarhar was targeted by a suicide bombing. 

In the attack on Tuesday, a suicide bomber blew himself up at an election rally being held by Nasir Mohmand in Nangarhar’s Kama district, killing at least 13 people and leaving over 30 others injured. 

In a statement, a spokesman for the provincial governor in Nangarhar, Attaullah Khogyani said that at least 13 bodies were taken to hospitals close by, but warned that the toll was likely to climb.

According to a member of the provincial council, Sohrab Qaderi said that the rally targeted by the suicide bomber had around 250 people in attendance. 

Qaderi added that dozens of people were injured in the attack.

In a separate statement, Najibullah Kamawal, Director of Public Health in Nangarhar province, said that at least 43 others were wounded in the attack.

Later the same day, the Islamic State outfit operating in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack through the terror group’s Amaq news agency. 

ISIS said in its statement that the suicide bomber killed 35 people and left over 50 others injured.

Bloodiest period in 17 years of war

Tuesday’s attack sparked worries related to the safety of civilians who would be heading to the polls on October 20, to cast their ballot, even as war rages on in the country. 

So far, local media reports have claimed that seven candidates have been killed across Afghanistan, in pre-campaigning attacks. 

The attack came in the same week as candidates launched formal campaigning rallies ahead of the parliamentary election and has raised questions about the security situation in the war-torn country.

Over the last few months, the sharp uptick in violence has sparked warnings from Afghanistan’s security officials over the danger of militant attacks during election campaign events and rallies – that are bound to draw hundreds of people together, making them vulnerable to attacks.

Nangarhar province, which is on the border with Pakistan, has been targeted by the local affiliate of Islamic State – known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) – several times this year.

The local ISIS affiliate, which emerged in the country in 2014, has carried out scores of deadly attacks since then, often targeting security forces and the country’s Shiite minority.

This year, the group has claimed several attacks, many of those in Nangarhar, that have killed scores of people. 

Even though the country’s forces, along with the U.S. and NATO support have been fighting the well-established insurgency of Taliban for years now,  the small but potent ISIS outfit in the country has proven to be a massive challenge for government forces.

According to U.S. Military estimates, there are about 2,000 Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan.

Apart from the threat from ISIS, Afghanistan is also facing an increasingly violent insurgency by Taliban, that has been fighting U.S.-led NATO forces in the country. 

Outrageous intimidation by militants

On Tuesday, the United Nations denounced the attacks, calling it intimidation in the week since formal campaigning began for the country’s parliamentary elections. 

Calling for an immediate end to election-related violence, Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Special Representative for Afghanistan said in a statement, “I am outraged by attacks deliberately targeting civilians seeking to exercise their basic right to participate in elections. This violence, including today’s reprehensible attack in Nangarhar, is an assault on the constitutional rights of the people of Afghanistan.”

The statement added, “UNAMA urges all actors to halt all violence and intimidation against candidates and voters.”