A bomb placed under a sofa killed an Afghan election candidate on Wednesday, officials said, as deadly violence escalates ahead of the October 20 parliamentary ballot.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Jabar Qahraman, who was running for the southern province of Helmand, a stronghold for the militant group.

Another seven were wounded in the blast, provincial governor spokesman Omar Zhwak told AFP.

Qahraman “was meeting his supporters in his election campaign office” when a bomb under his sofa detonated, Zhwak said.

“We have arrested several people in connection with the blast,” he added.

The latest attack takes the number of election candidates killed to at least 10, the majority of them murdered in targeted killings.

Poll-related violence has increased ahead of the long-delayed vote, with hundreds of people killed or wounded in attacks across the country.

Source: AFP