[ Afghan Elections 2004-2005 ]

Mufti Latifullah Hakimi, purporting to speak on behalf of the neo-Taliban, said on 6 October that his militia tried to assassinate Ahmad Zia Mas'ud on the road after he had attended an election rally, Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported. "The explosion in [northeastern] Badakhshan [Province] was aimed at killing Ahmad Zia Mas'ud," Hakimi told AIP in a telephone conversation. "As a first step, we are targeting the candidates and their running mates. We will employ all means to disrupt the election," Hakimi added. Mas'ud, the first running mate of frontrunner Karzai, was campaigning in Fayzabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan on 6 October when a bomb exploded, killing one person and injuring four (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 October 2004). The blast hit as Mas'ud's car passed by, ABC Radio Australia News reported on 7 October. (Ami Tarzi)