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Terrorists smuggling weapons into Afghanistan

Al Qaeda and other militant groups have smuggled explosives, weapons and millions of dollars in cash into Afghanistan for a resurgent terrorism campaign, the country`s top defense official warned on Wednesday. The comments by Defense Minister Rahim Wardak came after an unprecedented spate of suicide assaults, the latest on Wednesday when a bomber attacked a U.S. military convoy in the southern city of Kandahar, killing three civilians.

"There has been more money and more weapons flowing into their hands in recent months," Wardak said. "We see similarities between the type of attacks here and in Iraq." He said al Qaeda militants were increasingly teaming up with local rebels from the ousted Taliban movement to undermine President Hamid Karzai`s U.S.-backed government because they have realized their influence is waning.

Intelligence indicates that a number of Arabs and other foreigners have entered Afghanistan to launch suicide attacks, Wardak said. Besides explosives, the weapons smuggled into Afghanistan include remote-controlled timing devices and other computerized detonators.