An Afghan health official says 24 people were killed Tuesday in a bombing attack near the site of an election rally held by President Ashraf Ghani.
Dr. Qasim Sangin, the head of the provincial hospital in northern Parwan province, says at least 31 others were injured in the bombing, and that women and children were among the victims. A spokesman for Ghani says the president was unharmed in the blast.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Insurgent violence is expected to increase in coming days as Afghanistan prepares to hold its presidential election on September 28. The Taliban has threatened to disrupt the vote by staging attacks against election organizers and the security forces deployed to guard polling stations around the country.
