Afghanistan still potential refuge for int’l terror groups

KABUL: The killing of Osama bin Laden may weaken al-Qaida's influence on the Afghan Taliban, the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said.

Even so, Gen. David Petraeus warned that Afghanistan is still a potential refuge for international terror groups, and al-Qaida is just one of those. He also warned that the May 1 U.S. raid that killed the al-Qaida leader in his Pakistani compound did not spell the end of the NATO battle in Afghanistan, which began just one month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington with the aim of wiping out al-Qaida and bin Laden.

Interviewed aboard his helicopter by the US news agency, Petraeus said the strong link between al-Qaida and the Taliban was personal, not organizational.

"The deal between the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida was between Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden, not the organizations," Petraeus said as he visited U.S. troops in eastern Afghanistan.

Petraeus said bin Laden's death may make it easier for the Taliban to renounce al-Qaida, a condition for reconciliation talks set by NATO and the Afghan government.

Bin Laden's demise might weaken al-Qaida from within, Petraeus said, because bin Laden's personality and aura were a key for raising money for the world group, and without him, the group's worldwide network might fall apart under his successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"Ayman al-Zawahiri is no Osama bin Laden," Petraeus said.

Petraeus warned that al-Qaida is only one of a number of international terrorist organizations that would be eager to flood into an unstable Afghanistan if NATO forces left.

"The key is making sure there are no safe havens for those transnational terrorist groups in Afghanistan," Petraeus said.(AP)