Military

DATE= 4/22/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=AFGHANISTAN BOMBING (L-O)

NUMBER=2-315260

BYLINE=AYAZ GUL

DATELINE=ISLAMABAD

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Afghanistan is seeing a sudden rise in terrorist activity, with one bombing reported Wednesday and two failed bomb plots. Ayaz Gul reports from neighboring Pakistan on the Afghan security situation.

TEXT: International peacekeepers say they arrested four suspected terrorists in the capital, Kabul.

A spokesman for the peacekeeping force says one of the men was found carrying a homemade explosive. He said the group is believed to be part of a terrorist cell that had been planning an attack in the city.

Remnants of Afghanistan's former Taleban government have been waging a low-level guerilla war across the country, mainly attacking government and foreign targets.

Earlier, residents in the southern province of Kandahar say a man blew himself up in an apparent accident. Witnesses say the man had been preparing a bomb inside a makeshift shelter near Kandahar city when it exploded, killing him.

Wednesday, a bombing in the same province near the border town of Spin Boldak, killed one person and injured two others. The blast occurred near a building where the provincial governor had been meeting with local officials.

Recent violence in southern Afghanistan is hampering reconstruction efforts there, including work by the United Nations.

U-N spokesman David Singh told reporters in Kabul that the U-N staff remains under tight security restrictions throughout southern Afghanistan.

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Missions, as far as I know, are continuing, but . with armed escorts, and our staff are discouraged from going to certain areas . because that is one of the hot spots.

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Despite concerns over possible terrorist strikes, U-N and Afghan government workers say they are continuing to register voters for the country's presidential and parliamentary elections set for September. (SIGNED)

NEB/HK/AG/KPD/RAE