Security upped after attacks on Afghan mosques

KABUL, Afghanistan -- When the call to prayer rings out, Muslim faithful converge on the blue-tiled Qaraman-e-Karbala Mosque in the Afghan capital. At the gates, they are politely stopped and those with bags are searched.

The imam, Mohammad Kazim, is apologetic but firm about the new rules imposed after five bombs rattled Kabul on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Coming after bloody anti-Western riots in May, the blasts have intensified unease in the city, where many people increasingly worry that the insurgency in the countryside is creeping into what has been a relative oasis since the Taliban's ouster more than four years ago.

"For the security of the people and the security of the mosque, we must take these measures," Kazim said. "After the riots and now these explosions, the face of Kabul has changed. Everyone must take precautions. Nowhere is safe."

The blasts targeted government workers and security forces, killing one person and wounding four dozen. Three of the bombs hit buses taking people to work, and all were remote-controlled devices hidden in pushcarts -- reminiscent of attacks that plague Afghanistan's south and east.

"There's a recognition that security has been deteriorating for a while. This was a mark of that. When people are attacked going to work, there's something wrong," said Jamie Terzi, acting country director for the U.S.-based aid group CARE International.

On high alert

Kabul is now on high alert, with more police patrols and checkpoints in the streets.

While authorities have not arrested any suspects, the Defense Ministry spokesman pointed to Taliban insurgents, saying they are desperate to disrupt Afghanistan's political and economic progress.

"As you know, we have defeated the enemy in the south and southeast in recent months -- more than 500 enemies have been killed, injured or arrested," said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi. "In the past, whenever we've had political achievements, the enemy tried to do something to make people afraid."

The Afghan army and U.S. and other foreign troops are waging big offensives in the south and east against a resurgent insurgency. Since May, more than 700 people have been killed, most of them militants, according to an Associated Press tally.

The bombings were a shock for Kabul's people, who already were unsettled from the May riots sparked by a fatal road crash involving a U.S. military truck. At least 20 people died in the unrest.

The pavement in front of Amir Jan's lumber shop is scorched from a bomb that hit a bus, igniting his store full of wood. Days later, the 35-year-old is still jumpy, telling a man riding a bike with a black bag tied to it: "Move away, move away!"

"We have no security. If we had it, why does this happen?" Jan said angrily. "I'm scared but what can I do? I must still come to work. During the wartime, it was the same. No one can guarantee safety."

Mohammad Fahim, a 28-year-old pharmacy student whose university was near one of the bombings, also saw the attacks as a reminder of the bad days of the 1992-95 civil war when Kabul was carved up by warlords and tens of thousands people died.

"During the war, you knew where they were fighting so you could move. We had rockets in Kabul then, but now it's random bombings. No one knows when the next attack will happen. It's not relaxing. We are so afraid," he said.

Progress, however unsteady, can be seen in the capital, with a skyline full of scaffolding-encrusted construction projects and streets jammed with SUVs and Toyota Corollas. Markets are busy and schools are crowded.

Less visible gains are being made in education, health care and women's rights, said Terzi at CARE International.

"Girls' enrollment in school is up. You have a working parliament and women in the parliament. These things were not around five years ago," she said.

Business had been very good since the Taliban were chased out at the end of 2001, said Mohammad Arash, 23, who runs a photo shop near one of the bombings.

"Before this happened, I though Kabul was very safe," he said Thursday. "We were doing very well. Every day, we get between $100 to $200 in business. You don't think these attacks can happen anymore. But yesterday we had three explosions. How can you say it's safe?"

The bombings' effects were evident at the Women's Park, an urban sanctuary for women only.

Turned into a trash dump during the Taliban era, it was reclaimed two years ago and generally drew some 500 women and their children on a typical Friday, the Muslim day of prayer. After the attacks, only a few dozen were scattered around the park's playground and small shops.

"Yes, you can see the changes that have happened here for women and men. You can see the construction and new buildings," said the park's director, Nilab Sadat. "But in the end, everything depends on security. And I can't see an improvement."