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Afghan security guards inspect a damaged bus at the site of a suicide attack by the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan on Dec. 13, 2014.(Photo: Rahmat Gul, AP)
KABUL — Suicide bombings and other high-profile attacks in Afghanistan's capital city doubled in recent months as Taliban militants shifted tactics in an effort to sow discord in Kabul and undermine confidence in the country's new government before it is fully established.
The increase in violence in Kabul comes as the number of attacks nationwide decreased about 34% in the past several months when compared to the same time period last year.
The United States has withdrawn most of its combat forces from the country and will leave behind a residual contingent of about 10,000 troops to advise and assist Afghan units and perform a counter-terrorism mission.
Coalition commanders attribute the nationwide decline in attacks to Afghan security forces successfully taking the lead in providing security to most of the country. The forces have been able to hold their ground despite continued pressure from the Taliban on soldiers and police in a number of towns and villages.
The high profile attacks in the capital — many of them suicide bombings targeting civilians — are a low-risk way for militants to garner headlines and undermine confidence in Afghan's security forces, said Col. Brian Tribus, a coalition spokesman.
Still, the increased violence in Kabul, where there have been nearly daily attacks recently, is fueling a sense of unease among local residents.
"I pray before I leave the house because I don't know whether I'll make it back home alive," said Shagha Hassani, 58, who works as an usher in a movie theater.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani speaks during a ceremony to mark World Human Rights day in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 14, 2014.(Photo: Jawad Jalali, epa)
In a televised speech Sunday, President Ashraf Ghani condemned the recent violence, saying, "We will never surrender."
Afghanistan's government is working with the U.S.-led coalition to boost security in the capital, where the violence comes at a vulnerable time as Ghani's new unity government has yet to agree on a cabinet.
In the past week alone, seven were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying soldiers in Kabul on Saturday and an attack last week during a school play left one dead and a dozen wounded, many of them young students.
For Shukria Barakzai, a member of Parliament targeted last month by a suicide bomber, the attacks only stiffen her resolve.
Days after the explosion left her badly burned, Barakzai left her hospital bed in order to vote to approve a bilateral security agreement to allow a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan next year.
"You cannot stop us," she said. "This is a new Afghanistan."
Shukria Barakzai speaks during an interview with AFP as she recuperates at a government hospital in Kabul following an assassination attempt on Nov. 21, 2014.(Photo: Noorullah Shirzada, AFP/Getty Images)
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