Attacks increase in run-up to Afghan elections

A DEADLY suicide bombing at a mosque and an attempt to shoot down a US military aircraft with a shoulder-launched missile may signal the start of a campaign of violence by al-Qaida and Taliban rebels to destabilise Afghanistan’s legislative elections, President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman said yesterday.

Twenty people were killed in the June 1 blast in the southern city of Kandahar during the funeral of a moderate Muslim cleric who had spoken out against Taliban-led insurgents. Among the dead was the Kabul police chief and six of his bodyguards.

US military spokesman Lt Col Jerry O’Hara confirmed a shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missile was fired at a US aircraft on June 1. He said such attacks were infrequent and described it as an “isolated incident.”

Jawed Ludin, the presidential spokesman, said the Afghan government believed the attacks “were in fact related” and “the aim was to create maximum shock among the people.”

“It’s only logical to assume that the enemies of Afghanistan, the remnants of the Taliban, al-Qaida elements with links to circles outside the country, would have chosen this time to obviously set a plot in motion,” he said.

“They may have gathered all their resources to be able to do this,” he said.

A recent surge in violence, after a lull during the bitter winter months, “may be related to the parliamentary elections” set for September 18, Mr Ludin said. He compared the assaults to bloodshed that preceded October’s presidential elections.

At least 13 election workers were killed ahead of those polls.

Mr Ludin said Afghan security forces were working closely with coalition and NATO-led international forces to safeguard the elections.

He also said the government hoped neighbouring countries would “collaborate with us” to maintain security. The comment appeared to be mainly aimed at Pakistan.

The two share a long mountainous border, which is poorly guarded and, according to Afghan officials, often crossed by militants based in tribal regions on the Pakistani side.

Mr Ludin said the preliminary results of an investigation into the mosque bombing confirmed it was a suicide attack carried out by a foreigner and probably aimed at killing senior officials attending the funeral.

Kandahar Governor Gul Agha Sherzai said last week the attacker was an Arab member of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network.

Gov Gul Agha Sherzai said an intelligence report indicated that Arab al-Qaida teams had entered Afghanistan to carry out terror attacks. Since March, when winter ended, more than 200 suspected rebels have been killed in fighting with coalition forces, according to US and Afghan officials.

American military commanders are upbeat about progress toward peace, but there has been no let-up in fighting and several parts of the country are off-limits to foreign aid groups trying to rebuild after a quarter century of war.