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Qaeda regroups in Pakistan
21/12/2007 20:06 - (SA)
Washington - Al-Qaeda has regrouped in
Pakistan's remote Afghan border area and begun to focus attacks
on the Pakistani government and military, US Defence
Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
But the Pentagon chief said al-Qaeda's activities in
Pakistan have not yet affected Afghanistan, where US and
coalition forces have faced increased Taliban violence in the
past two years.
"There is no question that some of the areas in the
frontier area have become areas where al-Qaeda has
re-established itself," Gates said. "But so far, we haven't
seen any significant consequence of that in Afghanistan
itself.
"Al-Qaeda right now seems to have turned its face toward
Pakistan and attacks on the Pakistani government and Pakistani
people," he told reporters.
Gates said the Pentagon was looking for ways to improve the
Pakistani army's counter-insurgency capabilities by providing
training and equipment. The United States provides hundreds of
millions of dollars in security-related aid to Pakistan
annually.
Attacks on the Pakistan government and military have
increased in recent weeks. A suicide bomber killed 10 Pakistani
military recruits in the northwestern town of Kohat on Monday.
More than 400 people have been killed in suicide bomb
attacks in Pakistan in recent months, most in the North West
Frontier Province.
- Reuters
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