Attack fear as Afghans go to polls.

AFGHANISTAN goes to the polls to elect a new president today amid fears that threatened Taliban attacks will make voters stay at home.

Up to 17 million Afghans are registered to vote but many are expected to be too scared to turn out. The Taliban has repeatedly threatened

to disrupt the elections, and there have been a series of attacks around the country in recent days. Yesterday six US troops and at least six Afghan election officials were killed, while police killed three Taliban militants who took over a bank in the, Kabul.

Hamid Karzai, the current president, is the clear front runner in the poll but observers say it is impossible to predict whether he will win the 50 per cent he needs to avoid a second round.

There has been intense behindthe-scenes bargaining with his rivals, but the result could rest on the turnout among his Pashtun support base in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

UK officials estimate 70 per cent of Helmand's population will be able to take part in the elections.

CAPTION(S):

Elections: Afghan presidential candidate and current President Hamid Karzai holds his ballot at a polling station in Kabul, Afghanistan.