Al-Qaeda a worry in Afghanistan: US

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KABUL, Dec 04 (AP): Defence Secretary Robert Gates plans to talk with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military leaders about increasing levels of violence in Afghanistan amid concerns by US defence official that the reason may be an escalation of al-Qaeda activity.
On his third trip to Afghanistan, Gates said he has not yet seen data on any uptick in al-Qaeda activity, but increasing levels of violence in the country are clear and that he plans to talk about it with other defense leaders from NATO nations operating in Afghanistan.
Gates was expected to meet with key country leaders, including a Tuesday visit with President Hamid Karzai, as well as talk to commanders about conditions across the provinces.
As if to underscore the concern, a suicide car bomber targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul on Tuesday not long after Gates had passed along the same road, which had been closed to other traffic while Gates was traveling on it. NATO said 22 civilians who were near the blast were wounded.
A senior defence official said the US military is concerned and is looking for definitive signs of greater activity by al-Qaeda and foreign fighters, but the US has not seen enough proof to draw any final conclusions. The official discussed the terrorist network on condition of anonymity because of the security concerns.
As Gates headed to Kabul, US officials also said they now were considering providing arms to local tribes in Afghanistan, along with training, equipment and other support. The effort would be modeled after successful efforts in Iraq to empower the locals to police their own neighborhoods.