KABUL — Thousands of foreign fighters have poured into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban insurgency, the country’s defense minister said Saturday as he called for more international troops.
The remarks come as the U.S. debates whether to substantially increase its forces in Afghanistan or to conduct a more limited campaign focused on targeting al-Qaeda figures — most of whom are thought to be in neighboring Pakistan.
“The enemy has changed. Their number has increased,” Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak told lawmakers in a speech. He said about 4,000 fighters, mostly from Chechnya, North Africa and Pakistan “have joined with them, and they are involved in the fighting in Afghanistan.”
He gave no timeframe for the supposed increase in foreign fighters.
U.S. military officials said they could not immediately comment on the claim of a recent influx of foreign fighters.
The Associated Press
