"More foreign fighters join Taliban in Afghanistan"

By Jon Hemming
Reuters
Wednesday, July 30, 2008; 6:59 AM

KABUL (Reuters) - More foreign fighters are joining the ranks of
Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan as militants increasingly cross the
border from Pakistan to attack Afghan and Western troops, the Afghan
Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Afghanistan has kept up a barrage of criticism against neighbor
Pakistan in the last three months, accusing Pakistani agents of being
behind a string of high-profile attacks and allowing militants
sanctuary along the long and porous border.

"The presence of foreign fighters is increasing, and increasingly the
operations of the terrorists are led by foreigners," Defense Ministry
spokesman General Mohammad Zaher Azimi told a news conference.

Afghan, NATO and U.S.-led coalition forces are struggling to contain a
sharp surge in violence as the traditional summer fighting season gets
into full swing.

Already more U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan in May and June
than in Iraq, where there are some four times more American soldiers.

July, usually the peak month for fighting, could well be the worse
month yet for violence since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the
Taliban in 2001. Security analysts predict the number of violent
incidents could top 1,000 for the first time.

As well as more violence, Afghan and foreign troops are reporting a
greater sophistication in Taliban tactics such as multiple roadside
bombs and complex ambushes, factors indicating more training and
possibly the presence of foreigners.

TALIBAN LEADERS TARGETED

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, said
this month there were indications that al Qaeda was switching its
focus from Iraq back to Afghanistan.

Violence has increased by 40 percent in the last two months compared
to last year, NATO says, partly due to the improved weather, but also
due to ceasefires between troops and militants in Pakistan's border
tribal belt.

Afghanistan believes foreign funding for the Taliban is channeled
through Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency, Azimi
said.

Money for the insurgency comes through donors in Gulf countries and a
tax on Afghanistan's booming drug trade, security analysts say.

Afghan security forces have launched a series of operations along the
main highway that loops around the south of Afghanistan, killing
around 100 militants in the last two weeks, Azimi said.

Meanwhile, Afghan and international troops have killed 20 senior
militant leaders, including one from al Qaeda, in the last month and
captured another seven, he said.

Western troops in Afghanistan have concentrated on targeting the
Taliban leadership in an effort to degrade the insurgent fighting
ability.

(Editing by David Fox)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR2008073000718....