The turnout rate in the Afghan presidential polls appeared to be low on Thursday although the election authority extended the balloting for one hour.

Some 17 million Afghans are eligible to vote while the turnout is expected to be no more than 10 million, according to an election official, who asked not to be named.

Xinhua reporter in Kandahar said the turnout in the city appeared to be much lower than 2004 presidential election. In capital Kabul, the lines in front of the polling stations were shorter than that in 2004.

Sporadic attacks hit cities in the country during the poll as security situation is getting worse in most areas of the country. Taliban threats appeared to dampen voter turnout.

In northern Baghlan province, a district police chief was killed in a Taliban attack while a rocket attack killed one civilian and injured two children in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan.

"The rocket fired by rebels hit a residential house in Yaqubi district this morning killing one civilian and wounding two children," head of health department in the province Amir Badshah Mangal told Xinhua.

Earlier in the day, Kabul police killed two suspected suicide bombers in No.8 district, a police officer said.

"Three suicide bombers took position in a building and attempted to target police station in the 8th precinct but police shot them dead before going to action killing two of them," a police officer at the site of the incident told Xinhua but he refused to be identified.

In Ghormach district of northwest province Faryab, rocket attacks killed four security personnel Thursday morning while four rockets attacked Kandahar but caused no casualty.

Meanwhile, voters in Kabul complained that the purple ink used in marking voters' finger are easily erasable, which means one voter could cast multiple votes in different polling centers.

"I removed the ink within minutes," a resident of Kabul city Farrooq Shah Khan told Xinhua. Earlier, the presidential candidate Ramazan Bashardost and a parliamentarian Daud Sultanzoi have complained about the same problems.

But Chief of Independent Election Commission (IEC) Azizullah Ludin has rejected the claim, saying the ink, bought by United Nations Development Program (UNDP), cannot be erased within 48 hours even two weeks.

In Samkani district of eastern province Paktia, people complained over shortage of ballot papers.

"Due to shortage of ballot papers, the residents of Samkani district did not cast our votes, and we want authorities to send more ballot papers," a tribal elder Mohammad Jan told Xinhua.

Polls have closed and counting has started. The Afghan Election Commission said initial result of presidential election would be announced 48 hours after the vote ends while preliminary result would be announced on Sept. 3 and official result will be finalized on Sept. 17.

The election is a test for US government's new strategy for Afghanistan. US President Barack Obama has deployed 30,000 extra troops in Afghanistan this year, increasing the total number of foreign troops to 100,000, including 63,000 Americans.

(Xinhua News Agency August 20, 2009)