Three al-Qaida suspects killed in Afghanistan
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-17 21:53

It has long been believed that the Taliban and al-Qaida maintained ties after U.S.-led forces ousted the regime in 2001 for harboring Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. But the recent bombings, and Wardak's comments, reinforce fears that they've merged some of their forces.

Until two months ago, suicide bombings had been relatively rare in Afghanistan, with only a few reported in the past year, unlike in Iraq.

But nine such assaults have occurred nationwide starting on Sept. 28, when a uniformed man on a motorbike detonated a bomb outside an Afghan army training center where soldiers were waiting to take buses home, killing nine people.

A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the intelligence, said 22 would-be suicide bombers are believed to be in Afghanistan waiting for orders to attack.

On Monday, suspected Arab militants crashed two explosive-filled cars into NATO peacekeepers in the capital, Kabul, killing a German soldier and eight Afghans.

Though the Taliban claimed responsibility, the police blamed al-Qaida, saying the terror group was the only organization able to carry out such a coordinated assault.

A Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan, Mullah Ahmadullah Jan, told the AP this week that several Arab fighters with links to al-Qaida have joined the ranks of the rebels recently.

The surge in suicide bombings comes amid the deadliest year of militant violence in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime, with about 1,500 people killed. At least 87 U.S. military personnel also have been killed or died in accidents this year.

Asked about media reports that some insurgents from Iraq have come to Afghanistan to teach militants new tactics, Wardak said it was only speculation and no evidence had been found to support it.