n Kabul, the Afghan capital, the streets are quieter than usual.
Nearly 10 years after the US-led war on terror against al Qaeda began, its leader Osama bin Laden has been killed in a mansion in Abbottabad, just north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. But unlike scenes in the US on Monday, Afghans are not yet publicly celebrating.
"Most people are really emotional now that he is killed, we are happy. At lunch everyone was congratulating each other, especially those who lived under the Taliban," Shakib Shariffi, a 29-year-old Kabul resident, told Al Jazeera.
"But most people say they are also scared of any repercussions. The streets of Kabul not as busy as they usually are. People are worried there may be a reaction and that suicide bombers may come out on the streets."
While for many across the US, the death of bin Laden will be seen as some kind of conclusion to a decade-long war, Afghans continue to live under the constant threat of violence from Taliban or al-Qaeda fighters, and a US and Nato campaign continues in the war-ravaged country.
Mullah Zaif, a former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, told Al Jazeera the killing would not give "any fruit to the Americans or bring stability to the region. This is an ideological war. It was not just Osama bin Laden fighting," he told Al Jazeera.
Changing attitudes
Others also express little hope for the future.
"The assassination of bin Laden will not end our suffering, so al Qaeda will continue its terrorist attacks, the Taliban will continue their insurgency in Afghanistan," Haroun Mir, the deputy director of Afghanistan's Centre for Research and Policy Studies, said.
"People are still afraid ... it is still a dangerous country. A lot of people are afraid that al-Qaeda and the Taliban will take revenge for what has happened. We are under a permanent threat.
"The death of Osama bin Laden will not itself lead to lasting peace in this country."
Mohammed Fahim Dashty, editor of the English-language newspaper Kabul Times, was badly injured by suspected al-Qaeda bombers two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US, in an explosion that killed a national hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud.
He does not believe the death of bin Laden will bring any short-term change, but that it might alter people's attitudes to Afghanistan and the US-led operation against the Taliban.
"Most of the people were thinking that this war against terrorism was not a real war. Now I think this mindset has been changed.
"Afghans are also proud, because it has changed the global point of view [in relation to al-Qaeda].
"They have been saying that the al-Qaeda leader was in Pakistan, not Afghanistan, but there wasn't any proof of that. But now they have that evidence."
