Foreign fighters in Afstan

It's not clear how great a factor this is. I wonder if there is any link to the influx of al Qaeda money noted at the second part of this post. However the precedent of foreigners fighting the Soviets is not a good omen. And some the current foreigners may be a by-product of perceived success of al Qaeda's activities in Iraq.

Chechen and Arab fighters have flooded into the latest hotspot for Taliban activity in southern Afghanistan, helping turn it into an insurgent "sanctuary," a senior Canadian army officer said yesterday.

Unknown numbers of foreign militants have infiltrated the Shahwali Kot district north of Kandahar City in recent weeks, said Lt.-Col. Rob Walker, who commands the Canadian battle group.

A soldier from Bracebridge, Ont., Trooper Darryl Caswell, was killed Monday while trying to bring supplies to Canadian and American forces battling those fighters in the upper part of Shahwali Kot.

"The insurgents decided they are going to mass within that area, and there are a lot of foreign fighters there -- Chechens and Arabs," said Lt.-Col. Walker. "It's a bit of a sanctuary, so ISAF (the International Security Assistance Force) has decided we need to go up there to confront them, so that's where the fighting is."

Soldiers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and American special forces have already been combating insurgents in the district. They have been aided by Canadian artillery units, whose M-777s are the most advanced big guns in the Afghan theatre, capable of hurling shells up to 30 kilometres.

The NATO troops are having an impact on the imported fighters, said Lt.-Col. Walker, adding that reports suggest the gunmen "are taking some pretty good losses over the last couple of weeks since they've been there."

Reports of Arabs and other foreign combatants in Afghanistan always strike an ominous note, suggesting there is broader support for the insurgency, at least outside the country. It is not the first time that NATO has reported such sightings.

The Canadian army maintained it faced off against Arab militants during fierce combat in the Panjwai district west of Kandahar last year. And al-Qaeda has released videos it claims show Arabs battling alongside insurgents in Afghanistan.

Lt.-Col. Walker could not say exactly how many of the foreign gunmen may have gathered in Shahwali Kot. Canada had a presence there last spring and summer, but then pulled out.

Since then, insurgents have filled the vacuum...