Taliban threatens attacks if Afghan poll goes ahead

KABUL: The Taliban threatened on Sunday to carry out more attacks if Afghanistan goes ahead with a run-off presidential election despite opposition challenger Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from the contest.

"We will not allow the second round to pass off peacefully," Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said on phone from an undisclosed location.

"We will increase our attacks on the election process and we will ensure the election is a failure."