Fresh pre-poll violence in Afghanistan

Fresh violence has erupted in Afghanistan on the day before the country's presidential and provincial elections.

Security forces clashed with gunmen in a bank close to the presidential compound in Kabul. Three of the raiders were killed in the bank and explosions and gunfire were heard as the troops battled against the attackers.

The Afghan interior ministry said the attack had been carried out by "terrorists" after earlier describing the men as "thieves".

The Taliban had promised to disrupt tomorrow's poll and has waged a campaign of violence and terror to deter voters. There have been several attacks across the country over the past weeks and many have been killed and injured. Reports say the Taliban have threaten to cut off voter's fingers if they are marked with the electoral commission's indelible ink.

Meanwhile in Ghazni province, central Afghanistan, foreign troops mistakenly killed four Afghan police men, local officials say. The troops had been targeting a group of insurgents, who had been launching rockets at the town of Ghazni, when the men were killed and some of their colleagues injured.

Additionaly, in the northern Kunduz province, two police men were killed by the Taliban and another eight were taken. However, local officials have said that some of the eight may already have been working with the Taliban.

The Afghan government has asked both the foreign and national media to refrain from reporting election day violence as they fear it will keep voters away from the polls. The move has been criticised by many who see it as a restriction on the freedom of the press and it it is thought most journalist will ignore it.












Rahimullah Samander, president of the Afghanistan Independent Journalists' Association, said "this type of ban does not sit well with democratic principles".

A statement from the Afghanistan's foreign ministry said "All domestic and international media agencies are requested to refrain from broadcasting any incident of violence during the election process from 6am to 8pm on 20 August,".

Siamak Herawi, a spokesman for President Hamad Karzai, said that the media blackout would "prevent them from exaggerating it, so that people will not be frightened to come out and vote." However, Human Rights Watch has condemned the move as an "unreasonable violation of press freedoms" and Reporters Without Borders said the blackout "runs counter to the principal of electoral transparency."