Pakistan officials 'gave missile parts' to Taliban
in Kabul
US AND Nato forces are following up reports that the Taliban has received vital component parts for shoulder-fired Stinger missiles from Pakistani officials enabling them to be used against helicopters in Afghanistan.
It is claimed that the missiles - originally supplied to the Afghan Mujaheddin by the US during the war against the Russians - have been fitted with new battery packs allegedly provided by the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, in the last four months.
Western sources say they are not sure whether the supplies, needed to make the American-made missiles operational, were provided by rogue elements within the Pakistani secret service or approved at a high level.
However, the effect of rearming the Stingers could be to make Nato aircraft vulnerable at a time when Britain is carrying out the deployment of a force of almost 6,000 in southern Afghanistan.
It is believed that the battery packs had been fitted to between 18 and 20 heat-seeking Stingers which can hit targets at around 12,000 feet.
They are reported to have been handed over in the Quetta region in Pakistan, known to be used by the Taliban to launch attacks in southern Afghanistan.
US and Nato forces have carried out a series of searches along the border areas in the hunt for the missiles with one large-scale operation taking place a month ago.
No British forces were involved in the raid. It is not known whether any of the Stingers have been recovered. The Pakistan government yesterday denied accusations it was involved as "baseless".
"Pakistan has lost more security personnel in the fight against terror than any other country," a spokesman said. "We make no distinction between al-Qa'ida and the Taliban. These [allegations] are just rumours, unsubstantiated allegations and innuendo."
The Pakistan government also rejected suggestions of involvement by ISI rogue elements. "Our military and security services are disciplined forces," the spokesman said.
Reports that the batteries being fitted to the missiles began to surface at the end of last year along the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban fighters have yet to successfully use anti-aircraft missiles against US and Nato forces. One American helicopter has been brought down in the conflict, but that was through the use of a rocket-propelled grenade.
However, both US and British pilots report that ground to air missiles have been fired at them. Western diplomats and military are extremely sensitive about the Stinger allegations as it comes at a time when Afghanistan and Pakistan are engaged in an escalating feud over insurgent attacks inside Afghanistan. The director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Michael Maples, recently claimed that a resurgent Taliban were now at their most powerful since the official end of the war five years ago. (© Independent News Service)
