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KABUL (Reuters) - Sporadic attacks hit Afghan towns as polls opened on Thursday for an anxiously awaited presidential election that Taliban fighters have vowed to disrupt, but the United Nations said the turnout was encouraging.
"The vast majority of polling stations have been able to open and have received voting materials," said Aleem Siddique, spokesman for the U.N. mission in Kabul.
"There have been a number of attacks, particularly in the south and east of the country. But we are seeing queues forming at polling stations in the north, also in the capital, as well as, encouragingl
Afghanistan's presidential election has long been viewed by U.S. officials as a key to conferring legitimacy on the Afghan government, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his powerful warlord allies have planned to commit large-scale electoral fraud that could have the opposite effect.