KABUL: At least 20 people have been killed and 50 others injured in a suicide attack on the Kabul-based office of the Afghan presidential election candidate for the upcoming September elections. The Afghan administration confirmed this on Monday. The car exploded near the office of former intelligence chief Amarullah Saleh around 4.30pm on Sunday evening. Saleh is an ally of Ashraf Ghani, who is a candidate in the vice-presidential election scheduled for September 28.

Three other assailants were holed up for several hours in a four-storey building (including the office), a muheem launched by the security forces to evacuate them, which lasted till midnight. "At least 20 people have been killed and another 50 injured in the attack," Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Reami told local news. Four security personnel were also among those killed."

Four attackers, including a suicide bomber, were killed in the attack, bringing the death toll to 24. The spokesman said the interior ministry is investigating the incident. In a series of tweets, Ghani wrote, "My brother, the true son of Afghanistan's soil, and the first vice-presidential candidate in my election team, Amrullah Saleh, have survived the attack on the enemies of the country."

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