Pak,Iran backing Taliban: US

The US military commander in Afghanistan says he has evidence that factions of Pakistani and Iranian spy services are supporting insurgent...

The US military commander in Afghanistan says he has evidence that factions of Pakistani and Iranian spy services are supporting insurgent groups that carry out attacks on coalition troops. Taliban fighters in Afghanistan are being aided by elements of some intelligence agencies, Army Gen Stanley A McChrystal wrote in an analysis of the military situation delivered to the White House earlier this month.

McChrystal singled out Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence agency as well as the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as working to undermine US interests and destabilise the government in Kabul. McChrystal submitted his assessment last month,and a declassified version was published Sunday on the Washington Post website.

Afghanistans insurgency is clearly supported from Pakistan, McChrystal wrote,adding that senior leaders of major Taliban groups are reportedly aided by some elements of Pakistans ISI. The ISI has long-standing ties to Taliban,but Pakistani officials have repeatedly claimed to have severed those relationships. More recently,the ISI has been a key US partner in the capture of a number of high-level Al Qaeda operatives.

McChrystals comments are the first public indication in months that the United States continues to see signs of ISI support for insurgent groups. Experts said elements of the ISI maintain those ties to hedge against a US withdrawal from the region and rising Indian influence in Afghanistan.

Iran has traditionally had an adversarial relationship with the Taliban,and McChrystals report says that Tehran has played an ambiguous role in Afghanistan, providing assistance to the government even as it flirts with insurgent groups.

The Iranian Quds Force is reportedly training fighters for certain Taliban groups and providing other forms of military assistance to insurgents, McChrystal said. He did not elaborate on the nature of the assistance,but Iran has been a transit point for foreign fighters entering Pakistan. Experts also cited evidence that Iran has provided training and technology in the use of roadside bombs.

Irans aim is to make sure the US is tied down and preoccupied, said Bruce Hoffman,a terrorism expert at Georgetown University.