Afghanistan's Taliban militia have deployed thousands of Arab fighters in their southern stronghold of Kandahar in preparation for war, Pakistani military and political officials said Sunday.
One senior military officer in this major crossing point on the Pakistan-Afghan border, also said Taliban numbers at the frontier posts 100 meters away had been lifted from just a handful to around 300 since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
Citing sources crossing the border in recent days, the official said "thousands of Arab fighters" had gathered in Kandahar -- 100 kilometers inside the Afghan border -- in preparation for US military strikes.
Kandahar is seen as a prime target of any US military retaliation for the Taliban's refusal to hand over Saudi-born Osama bin Laden -- blamed by the United States for the attacks on New York and Washington.
Since the days of the 1979-89 Soviet occupation, Afghanistan has lured large numbers of Arab Islamists wanting to join jihad, or holy war -- CHAMAN, Pakistan (AFP)
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