Earlier this month, the Taliban, for the first time in many months, fired a barrage of rockets in Kabul city from Dah-e Sabz, a locality 15 kilometer north of the capital.

Similarly, seven persons were killed and over 90 others injured in a massive suicide attack at the gate of NATO-led forces headquarters in Kabul on Saturday. On Tuesday, similar attack also in Kabul left seven civilians dead and over 50 injured.

An Afghan national army soldier keeps watches at the vehicle check point in Kandahar province, August 19, 2009. [Xinhua]

Furthermore, militants occupied a bank on Wednesday and after hours of gun battle with police three insurgents were killed.

Taliban militants, in a statement on Monday, called on Afghans to boycott the election, saying they would interrupt the voting process.

An Afghan policeman searches a car at a vehicle checkpoint in Kandahar province, August 18, 2009. [Xinhua]

Despite threats from the militants, public enthusiasm kept on growing as the polling time is coming. It is reported that even some Taliban commanders did not agree with the call of Mulla Omar, their leader, to disrupt the polls.