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Officials claim new stream of support for insurgency coming from Iran
Knock-kneed with fear, the young prisoner perched on the edge of his chair in the windowless Afghan intelligence office. Eyes bloodshot and hands trembling, he blurted out his story. Abdullah had reached the end of a pitifully short career as a Taliban fighter. He had been arrested hours earlier, just 10 days after signing up to the insurgency. But the 25-year-old with a soft face and a neat beard had something unusual that aroused the intelligence agents' curiosity. "I come from Iran," he said in a quavering voice, wringing his hands nervously. "They told me the Americans had invaded Afghanistan and I should go and fight jihad. But I was cheated. Now I am very sorry that I ever left."As a hurricane of Taliban violence tears across Afghanistan - the latest suicide bombing killed 10 people in Kabul on Saturday - accusations of foreign support have centred on Pakistan, where fighters can shelter, organise and rearm. But recently Afghan and western officials have started to detect a second, albeit far smaller, stream of support from within Afghanistan's other powerful neighbour, Iran. Military and diplomatic sources said they had received numerous reports of Iranians meeting tribal elders in Taliban-influenced areas, bringing offers of military or more often financial support for the fight against foreign forces. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the meetings took place in Helmand province, where more than 3,000 British troops are based, and neighbouring Nimroz, a lawless desert province bordering eastern Iran. Posted by: Fred 2006-10-02 |
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