Kabul, Afghanistan ? When the call to prayer rings out, Muslim faithful converge on the blue-tiled Qaraman-e-Karbala Mosque in the Afghan capital. At the gates, they are politely stopped and those with bags are searched.

The imam, Mohammad Kazim, is apologetic but firm about the new rules imposed after five bombs rattled Kabul last week.

Coming after bloody anti-Western riots in May, the blasts have intensified unease in the city, where many people increasingly worry that the insurgency in the countryside is creeping into what has been a relative oasis since the Taliban’s ouster more than four years ago.

“For the security of the people and the security of the mosque, we must take these measures,” Kazim said. “After the riots and now these explosions, the face of Kabul has changed. Everyone must take precautions. Nowhere is safe.”

Abddultanon, right, prepares to light a cigarette during a break from fixing the wall of a school damaged by a bomb last week in Kabul, Afghanistan. The explosions, which targeted government workers and security forces, have cut through the calm veneer and deepened the sense of unease over what some say has been a steady deterioration in security in Afghanistan.

The blasts targeted government workers and security forces, killing one person and wounding four dozen. Three of the bombs hit buses taking people to work, and all were remote-controlled devices hidden in pushcarts – reminiscent of attacks that plague Afghanistan’s south and east.

“There’s a recognition that security has been deteriorating for a while. This was a mark of that. When people are attacked going to work, there’s something wrong,” said Jamie Terzi, acting country director for the U.S.-based aid group CARE International.

Kabul is now on high alert, with more police patrols and checkpoints in the streets.

While authorities have not arrested any suspects, the Defense Ministry spokesman pointed to Taliban insurgents, saying they are desperate to disrupt Afghanistan’s political and economic progress.

The Afghan army and U.S. and other foreign troops are waging big offensives in the south and east against a resurgent insurgency. Since May, more than 700 people have been killed, most of them militants, according to an Associated Press tally.

The bombings were a shock for Kabul’s people, who already were unsettled from the May riots sparked by a fatal road crash involving a U.S. military truck. At least 20 people died in the unrest.

The pavement in front of Amir Jan’s lumber shop is scorched from a bomb that hit a bus, igniting his store full of wood. Days later, the 35-year-old is still jumpy, telling a man riding a bike with a black bag tied to it: “Move away, move away!”

“We have no security. If we had it, why does this happen?” Jan said angrily. “I’m scared but what can I do? I must still come to work. During the wartime, it was the same. No one can guarantee safety.”