Afghanistan’s National Security Council on Friday decided to postpone Kandahar province elections by a week following an attack that killed two top officials, Tolo News reported. The Taliban, which has called for a boycott of the elections, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Parliamentary elections in the country will be conducted on October 20. More than 50,000 personnel of the country’s security forces have been deployed for polling day.

On Thursday, bodyguards killed Kandahar’s top police chief Abdul Raziq and Kandahar’s intelligence chief Abdul Mohmin, Al Jazeera reported. The Taliban referred to Raziq as a “brutal police chief”. Two United States military personnel sustained injuries during the incident.

President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesperson Haroon Chakansuri said the decision to postpone elections in Kandahar was taken to respect the demands from people in the province and based on the recommendations of the election officials. He did not specify when the election will be held but said that the date will be announced soon.

Meanwhile, Raziq’s funeral was held in Kandahar’s Kherqa Mubarak – one of the holiest shrines in the city. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attack, AP reported. “The violence or threats intended to disrupt the elections were unacceptable,” the organisation’s statement said.