Taliban, al-Qaeda plot to destabilize Afghan elections
A deadly suicide bombing at a mosque and an attempt to down a U.S. military aircraft with a shoulder-launched missile may signal the start of a campaign of violence by al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels to destabilize Afghanistan’s legislative elections, President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman said Tuesday. Twenty people were killed in the June 1 blast in the southern city of Kandahar during the funeral of a moderate Muslim cleric who had spoken out against Taliban-led insurgents. Among the dead was the Kabul police chief and six of his bodyguards. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Jerry O’Hara confirmed that a shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missile was fired at a U.S. aircraft on June 1. He said such attacks were infrequent and described it as an “isolated incident.” Full Story