Karzai, Abdullah laud courge of voters

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, lauded the courage of voters who cast ballots in Thursday's presidential election, despite Taliban threats.

Taliban militants carried out a string of attacks across Afghanistan on Thursday, as Afghans went to the polls to choose the next president of their deeply troubled nation.

Insurgents killed 26 Afghans in scattered attacks, but officials say militants failed to disrupt the vote.

After polls closed, Karzai complimented Afghans for having the courage to vote.

Hamid Karzai, Afghan President, said, "In the 15 provinces of Afghanistan, there were terrorist attacks against the election. According to information from the Ministry of Interior, there were 73 incidents. Our people were not deterred from voting. People came and voted."'

Abdullah acknowledged that "security circumstances" had kept some voters away, but said that "on the whole," the people of Afghanistan had broadly participated in the election, and were brave in the face of daunting obstacles.