Deadly attacks in Afghanistan spur fears of foreign support

KABUL, Afghanistan -- An onslaught of grisly and sophisticated attacks since parliamentary elections in September has left Afghan and international officials concerned that Taliban guerrillas are obtaining support from abroad to carry out strikes that increasingly mimic insurgent tactics in Iraq.

The recent attacks -- including at least nine suicide bombings -- have shown unusual levels of coordination, technological knowledge, and blood lust, according to officials. Although military forces and facilities have been the most common targets, religious leaders, judges, police officers, and foreign reconstruction workers have also fallen prey to the violence.

The success of the September vote, which was relatively peaceful despite Taliban threats of sabotage, initially raised hopes that the insurgency was losing strength. But after two of the bloodiest months since US forces entered Kabul in 2001, officials now say the Taliban might have been using that time to marshal foreign support and plot new ways to undermine the Western-backed government.

The attacks have been particularly noteworthy for their use of suicide bombers. Some have struck in waves, with one explosive-laden car following the next in an effort to maximize casualties. That sort of attack has been a hallmark of Al Qaeda and a regular occurrence in Iraq. But in Afghanistan, suicide attacks of any kind have been relatively rare, despite a quarter-century of warfare.

Attackers have also shown a growing appetite for strikes in cities, particularly Kabul, setting residents' nerves on edge and leading them to take new security precautions at work, home, and social events.

At a wedding Saturday, armed Afghan police officers meticulously searched guests before they were allowed to enter -- a practice unknown here until recent months. ''Maybe somebody will bring a bomb and explode it at the wedding," said Nasrullah, a guest in his fifties who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. ''It used to be that we could trust people. But right now, we cannot trust."

Colonel Jim Yonts, spokesman for the US military in Afghanistan, said the Taliban is resorting to suicide attacks and remote-controlled bombings in urban areas ''out of desperation" as it continues to lose ground -- and men -- to international forces in the mountains and other rural areas. ''They only lose one person in a suicide attack, not 10 or 15," as they would in battle, he said.

But Yonts acknowledged ''grave concern" among US officials over the idea that the Taliban might be taking a page from Iraqi insurgents' playbook by attacking with explosives in cities.

Afghan officials said the recent attacks demonstrate that the Taliban fighters are continuing to receive considerable outside assistance, such as advanced explosives and computerized timing devices used to build more devastating bombs.

In the past two weeks, Afghanistan has experienced near-daily attacks.

The level of violence in Afghanistan is still nowhere near that in Iraq. The insurgency here is generally considered to have far less public support and to be less capable of pulling off attacks that cause mass casualties. Reconstruction projects are ongoing in most parts of the country, and Westerners can move freely in many areas with little fear of violence.

''Compared to Iraq, where the suicide bomber is such a cheap commodity they could throw them at almost any target, that's not where we are here," said US Ambassador Ronald Neumann, noting that the bombers have been a mix of Afghans and foreigners.

Neumann said he did not believe the stepped-up attacks were a sign of widening Taliban support, but rather represented ''a change in tactics and in targets, which makes the violence more evident."