UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council condemned "in the strongest terms" the recent attacks that caused numerous casualties in Afghanistan ahead of its upcoming legislative elections set for Saturday.

The attacks took place in Jowzjan, Kunduz, Takhar, Herat, Zabul, Farah and Kandahar.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the government of Afghanistan," the Security Council said in a statement, wishing a speedy and full recovery to the injured.

The council underscored the importance of a secure environment for conducting elections and emphasized that violence in any form intended to disrupt the elections and democratic process is unacceptable.

On Thursday, three top Afghan provincial officials and a local journalist were killed in a shooting after an Afghan-NATO security meeting in the southern province of Kandahar, a local source said.

On Wednesday, a bomb ripped through the campaign office of a leading candidate in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, killing the candidate and injuring eight others. Hours after the blast, Taliban claimed responsibility

The Taliban group has vowed to sabotage the elections and has demanded the people stay away from polling stations on the voting day.

More than 50,000 troops, according to the Interior Ministry, are deployed to ensure security for the polls.

More than 2,500 candidates are contesting the 249 seats of Wolesi Jirga, or the lower house of the Afghan parliament.