UN report calls voter center attacks 'assault on democracy'

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A United Nations report is criticizing the nearly two dozen recent attacks on voter registrations centers in Afghanistan, warning they are tantamount to an "assault on democracy."

The report by the U.N.'s Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, released Thursday, identified 23 separate incidents directed at disrupting preparations for planned October parliamentary elections.

Some of the incidents involved threats and intimidation but several were suicide attacks, including one on April 22 that killed 25 people who had gathered to register at a mosque in Kabul's Dast-e-Barchi neighborhood.

According to the report, recent attacks have left 271 civilians killed or wounded throughout Afghanistan