Diplomat: Afghanistan on road to elections

WASHINGTON - Afghanistan's new constitution balances the rights of the country's fragmented ethnic groups and should serve as a model for other developing, ethnically diverse countries, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan said Thursday.

The new charter puts Afghanistan on a path toward presidential and parliamentary elections that should proceed as scheduled this summer, despite U.N. concerns that security there is inadequate and that voter registration is lagging behind schedule, said Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.

Khalilzad returned Wednesday night from Afghanistan's grand council, or loya jirga, where regional leaders ironed out the new constitution.

The United Nations has appealed for more foreign troops to provide security for national elections scheduled for June, warning that the balloting can take place only if safety improves.

Khalilzad acknowledged a "slower-than-expected registration so far," but said his country was seeking ways to accelerate the process to make up for it.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Two Afghan soldiers were wounded by a bomb Thursday just yards from the spot where a double blast killed 15 children earlier this week, officials said.

The bomb exploded on the roof of a building at the edge of a sprawling military compound in eastern Kandahar where the men were on guard duty.

One of the soldiers had to have a leg amputated. The other was only slightly injured.

Violence has overshadowed Sunday's ratification of a new Afghan constitution that is supposed to act as a bulwark against terrorism and underlined the lack of security that threatens plans for national elections.

Thursday's blast in Kandahar occurred about 300 feet from the spot where a bomb concealed in a cart Tuesday tore through a group of children.

Another bomb was defused in Kandahar on Wednesday evening, deputy police chief Salim Khan said. It was found hidden under straw near a bus station.

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