Afghan leader: Election was honest, critics cannot decide if runoff needed

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai called Afghanistan’s disputed election “true and fair” and said he would not accept a second round of voting simply to satisfy critics claiming massive fraud, after European monitors said more than a quarter of the votes were suspect.

Berlusconi after bombing kills troops: better to exit Afghanistan soon, but allies must agree

ROME — Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday it would be best for international troops to leave Afghanistan soon, after a bomb blast in Kabul killed six Italian soldiers in Italy’s deadliest day yet in the conflict.

Suicide bombing kills 10 Afghans, six Italians in Kabul (Second Lead)

KABUL - A suicide attack against an Italian military convoy shook the Afghan capital Thursday, leaving 10 Afghan civilians and six Italian soldiers dead, officials said.

Afghan presidential panel says 30 civilians died in German-ordered US airstrike

KABUL — An Afghan presidential commission said Thursday that 30 civilians and 69 armed Taliban militants died in a German-ordered U.S. airstrike on two hijacked fuel tankers earlier this month.

Defense minister: “cowardly” attacks will not change Italy commitment in Afghanistan

ROME — Italy said Thursday that its troops will remain in Afghanistan, despite suffering its deadliest attack to date in the country, a suicide car bombing that killed six soldiers and wounded four.

Suicide car bomber strikes Afghanistan’s capital, killing 6 Italian soldiers, 10 civilians

KABUL — A suicide car bomber killed six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians Thursday in the heavily guarded capital of Kabul — a grim reminder of the Taliban’s reach amid political uncertainty in Afghanistan.

Suicide bombing in Kabul kills nine, injures 38

KABUL - A suicide attack against an Italian military convoy shook the Afghan capital Kabul Thursday, leaving six soldiers and at least three civilians dead and 38 others wounded, officials said.

Suicide car bomber strikes Afghanistan’s capital, killing at least 10

KABUL — A suicide car bomb hit vehicles carrying foreign troops near the U.S. Embassy and an American military base in Afghanistan’s capital Thursday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, officials said.

Karzai urges common sense after poll results, charges of fraud

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai called for prudence Thursday, a day after preliminary official results gave him an outright win in the first round of a presidential election that was plagued by charges of vote rigging.

Italian Defense Ministry says 6 people have died in blast in Kabul

ROME — The Italian Defense Ministry says that six people have died in a blast in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Suicide bombing in Kabul kills two, injures 38

KABUL - A suicide attack against an Italian military vehicle shook the Afghan capital Kabul Thursday, leaving at least two people dead, witnesses and officials said.

Large explosion rocks center of Afghanistan’s capital

KABUL — A large blast shook a road near the U.S. Embassy and an American military base in Afghanistan’s capital on Thursday, killing at least two people.

Large explosion shakes in center of Afghanistan’s capital

KABUL — A large explosion has shaken the center of Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul. The blast occurred in a neighborhood that houses the U.S. and British embassies, along with military installations.

Afghan president defends election’s integrity, but says some officials “were partial” to him

KABUL — President Hamid Karzai defended the integrity of Afghanistan’s presidential ballot Thursday against charges of widespread fraud, but stopped short of declaring victory despite a substantial lead in the preliminary count.

EU monitors say a third of Karzai votes are suspect

KABUL - European Union monitors believe that about one-third of the votes cast for President Hamid Karzai in the Aug. 20 election are suspicious and should be examined for fraud.

Full, uncertified Afghan vote tally: Karzai has 54 percent; fraud probes still pending

KABUL — Afghan officials issued full preliminary results Wednesday showing President Hamid Karzai got 54.6 percent of the vote in last month’s election, a result that could be annulled by mounting fraud allegations. European Union election monitors say fraud is indicated in more than a quarter of the 5.6 million votes counted.

Karzai gets absolute majority in Afghan poll

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai won an absolute majority in Afghanistan’s presidential election, according to a final preliminary result released by the election commission Wednesday.

Karzai gets absolute majority in Afghan presidential poll

KABUL - President Hamid Karzai won an absolute majority in Afghanistan’s presidential election, the official election commission announced Wednesday.

Full, uncertified Afghan vote tally shows Karzai at 54 percent; fraud probes pending

KABUL — Afghanistan’s election commission released preliminary vote totals Wednesday showing President Hamid Karzai with 54.6 percent of the vote in the first full results to be released since the country’s Aug. 20 election.

US ambassador walks streets of Kabul, underscoring Afghan capital’s relative safety

KABUL — The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan strolled the streets of Kabul on Wednesday, chatting with schoolchildren and visiting a mosque during an impromptu city tour.

NATO says 3 US service members have died in a blast in southern Afghanistan

KABUL — Three U.S. service members died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, a NATO spokesman said Wednesday.

Afghan election officials to release full preliminary results after repeated delays

KABUL — Afghan election officials plan to release the full preliminary results Wednesday from last month’s presidential vote, though the much-delayed total has lost some significance in an election now likely to be determined by the outcome of fraud investigations.

EU monitors say 1.5 million Afghan votes rigged

KABUL - European Union (EU) election monitors said Wednesday that up to 1.5 million votes, one quarter of all ballots, had been subject to manipulation or were suspected of having been subjected to tampering.

Recount ordered at 10 pct of Afghan poll sites because of fraud, could push Karzai into runoff

KABUL — Ballots from about 10 percent of Afghanistan’s polling stations need recounting because of suspicions of fraud, the chief election watchdog said Tuesday, increasing the chances that President Hamid Karzai could face a runoff.

Recount order affects 10 pct of Afghan vote sites over suspect counts in presidential election

KABUL — Ballots from about 10 percent of Afghanistan’s polling stations must be recounted because of suspicions of fraud in last month’s presidential election, according to an order from a U.N.-backed body, an official said Tuesday.

Senior American UN official temporarily leaves Afghanistan in dispute with boss over election

KABUL — A top American official at the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has temporarily left the country following a disagreement with his boss over how to respond to widespread allegations of vote fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election, officials said Tuesday.

Afghan body to recount ballots from 10 percent polling centres

KABUL - Election authorities said Tuesday they would recount ballots from around 10 percent of the polling stations in last month’s presidential vote due to indications of fraud.

Recount ordered at 10 pct of Afghan vote sites over suspect tallies in presidential election

KABUL — A U.N.-backed monitoring body ordered Afghanistan’s election commission to recount ballots from about 10 percent of the country’s polling stations because of suspicious totals in last month’s presidential vote, an official said Tuesday.

Recounts ordered at 10 percent of Afghan polling sites because of suspicious vote tallies

KABUL — A top election official says vote tallies from about 10 percent of Afghanistan’s polling stations need to be recounted because of possible irregularities in the country’s Aug. 20 presidential election.

Taliban commander surrenders in Afghanistan

KABUL - A Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Salam has surrendered to the authorities in Afghanistan’s northwest Badghis province, a media report said Tuesday.