Eight Afghan civilians killed by roadside bomb

By Rafiq Sherzad

KHOGIANI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A roadside bomb killed eight civilians in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, officials said, the latest attack in a surge of violence before a presidential election run-off next week.

The blast in Nangarhar province in Afghanistan's east followed a similar bombing in the southern Taliban stronghold of Kandahar which killed four Afghans, including a child, on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said.

The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the run-off vote on Nov. 7 and have warned Afghans to boycott the poll, called after the first round in August was marred by widespread fraud.

A suicide attack on a U.N. guest-house in the capital, Kabul, on Wednesday killed five foreign U.N. staff.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, saying they targeted the guest-house because the United Nations is helping organise the run-off.

In Nangarhar, a Reuters witness said a car was being driven through a dry river bed when it was hit by the bomb.

Villagers said a tribal elder who was a passenger in the car appeared to be the target of attack. A woman was among those killed, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Afghan election officials have expressed concern that security forces will not have time to secure the thousands of polling stations before the run-off.