Afghan election front-runner Abdullah escapes assassination attempt

Kabul: Afghan presidential election front-runner Abdullah Abdullah said he had escaped an assassination attempt on Friday when an explosion hit his campaign motorcade in Kabul, just days ahead of a hotly-contested run-off election.

"A few minutes ago, when we left a campaign rally our convoy was hit by a mine," he told another election rally in quotes broadcast on Afghan television. He added that some of his guards were mildly wounded, while he was unhurt.

The attempt came ahead of the second-round presidential election on June 14, with Taliban insurgents threatening to disrupt the polls.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Abdullah fell short of the 50 per cent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off.

"We condemn the attack on respected presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah," Ghani said on Twitter.

"This is the act of the enemies of Afghanistan to disrupt the democratic process in the country."