MOSCOW  -  The recent deadly blast in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar will not affect the upcoming parliamentary election, which will be held on October 20, as scheduled, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, an explosion occurred during a parliamentary campaign rally held by one of the candidates in Nangarhar, killing at least 14 people leaving around 40 others injured. The Islamic State terror group (IS, banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The parliamentary election of October 20 will not be postponed," the IEC said, as quoted by the Afghan TV channel 1TV. According to the TOLOnews broadcaster, the IEC has called on the Afghan security forces to ensure the candidates' protection following the deadly attack. The parliamentary election scheduled for October 20 will be the first in the country since 2010. While it was supposed to take place in 2016, the unstable security situation in the country, where the government is engaged in fighting numerous armed groups and terrorist organizations, has forced the election to be postponed.

Sputnik