Afghan capital edgy after blasts

By Mark Dummett
BBC News, Kabul

Buses carrying government employees to work were targeted

The bombs that struck Kabul on Tuesday and Wednesday are by no means the worst that the city's residents have seen.

There are plenty of ruined buildings in the Afghan capital that were on the receiving end of far more powerful explosives during the civil war of the 1990s than those that went off this week.

There have also been a series of deadly suicide attacks in and around the city.

But the fact that the five roadside blasts appeared to be co-ordinated has raised fears that the recent upsurge of violence in southern and eastern Afghanistan might reach the capital.

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"It is somewhat predictable," a spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), which works with newly-formed Afghan army and police units to defend Kabul, told the BBC.

"I think it's fair to say that you're going to see more of this kind of insurgent activity - not just in the capital, but in other places as well, in the face of our increasingly coherent campaign," Major Luke Knittig said.

'Under control'

Three of the bombs targeted government workers during the morning rush-hour, one exploded by the side of a busy road and another outside the ministry of justice.

I saw some of the officers burning. The bus then crashed into the shops Witness Abdul Hanan

In all, close to 50 people were injured and one passer-by died.

It could have been much worse.

"When the bomb exploded it hit the fuel tank of the bus," explained Abdul Hanan, who saw a bus carrying defence ministry officials hit by a blast, and become consumed by fire.

"The driver jumped out along with other passengers. I saw some of the officers burning. The bus then crashed into the shops," he said.

The police say they have the situation in Kabul under control.

"We are prepared for these kinds of incidents," city police chief Amanullah Guzar said.

"These sorts of explosions happen everywhere in the world, nobody can stop them, but we have already got our criminal branch on duty."

Police are out in force in Kabul

Security across the city has been tight, especially since violent anti-government riots in May.

Armed police stop and check vehicles on important roads, Isaf troops patrol and giant concrete blocks prevent cars approaching strategically important buildings.

At least two of the bombs are thought to have been concealed on the wooden carts used to transport goods to market and sell fruit and vegetables by the side of the road.

Police chief Amanullah Guzar has promised that even these hand carts will now be checked.

'Inhuman'

There is little indication that many people in the city are heeding the recent call by al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to Afghans living in Kabul to resist the foreign forces in their country.

It is the innocent and the poor who are dying in these explosions Kabul student

Rather than stay at home, most Kabulis carried on as normal on Wednesday.

It was almost as overcrowded and bustling as normal, and a large crowd gathered at the site of one of the explosions.

"This is an inhuman action, because the people of Afghanistan have seen too much war, they are hoping for peace," one man said.

"What I want is for the government to stop this," another added.

"It is the innocent and the poor who are dying in these explosions," a student agreed.

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