Blast At Afghan Electoral Building, No Casualties

KABUL, Aug 19 (AFP) - An explosion rocked an electoral commission building in western Afghanistan late on Thursday, in the latest suspected attack ahead of a landmark presidential election in October, a United Nations spokesman said.
No one was injured in the blast in the city of Farah, UN spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told AFP, explaining that while the origin of the blast was unknown, "it was probably an attack".
"There were no casualties but there were international staff who were in the office, "he said. "They were not injured."
He added that the blast had caused minor damage to the building and that an investigation had been launched.
Attacks on electoral workers ahead of the October 9 election have increased recently. Twelve people have been killed and a further 33 wounded in violence since May.
Remnants of the ousted Taliban regime have spearheaded efforts to disrupt the poll, the first direct election since the extremist Islamic regime grouping was ousted in late 2001.