Al-Qaeda operatives strengthening bases in Pak: report

Taliban in Pakistan is being bolstered by Al-Qaeda network in recent turmoil in Pakistan and success of the Islamic group to extend territorial gains could foreshadow the creation of "min-Afghanistan" around the country.      

The turmoil in Pakistan is also being seized by Al-Qaeda to strengthen its presence in Pakistan and any creation of bases like "mini-Afghanistan" could allow militants more freedom to plot attacks, the 'New York Times' reported quoting intelligence sources.      

That Taliban was receiving backing from groups like Al-Qaeda, the paper said, was indicated when a UAV missile stuck an explosive-laden truck inside what was believed was an Al-Qaeda compound in South Waziristan.      

The truck went off in a fireball and US intelligence officials estimate that the truck was loaded with high explosives and could be meant to have in use as a suicide bomb in support of the Taliban forces fighting the army in Swat and Buner.      

The bomb was more potent than the one used at the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad in September last year, which killed more than 50 people.      

Intelligence official say that Taliban advances into Swat and Buner, which are closer to Islamabad than Waziristan, had already helped the Al-Qaeda in attracting more recruits from Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.  Al Qaeda leaders — predominantly Arab group of Egyptians, Saudis and Yemenis as well as other nationalities like Uzbeks — for years have nurtured ties with Pakistani militant groups, the Times reported.      

The foreign operatives have historically set their sights on targets loftier than those selected by the local militant groups, aiming for spectacular attacks against the West, but they may see new opportunity in the recent violence, the report said.      

"They smell blood, and they are intoxicated by the idea of a jihadist takeover in Pakistan," Bruce O Riedel, former CIA analyst who recently led the Obama administration's policy review of Pakistan and Afghanistan, was quoted as saying.      

However, it remains unlikely that Islamic militants could seize power in Pakistan given the strength of Pakistan's military, American intelligence analysts say.      

American government officials and terrorism experts said that Al Qaeda's increasing focus on a local strategy was partly born from necessity, as the CIA's intensifying airstrikes have reduced the group's ability to hit targets in the West. One of Al Qaeda's main goals in Pakistan, the assessment said, was to "stage major terrorist attacks to create a feeling of insecurity, embarrass the government and retard economic development and political progress."      

The Qaeda operatives are foreigners inside Pakistan, and the experts said that the group's leaders like Osama bin Laden and his deputy, appear to be wary of claiming credit for the violence in the country, possibly creating popular backlash against the group.