Afghanistan War News Updates -- February 4 - 5, 2009

In this picture released exclusively to Reuters on January 17, 2009, Taliban militants are seen with their weapons in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan January 16, 2009. (Stringer/Reuters)

Afghanistan Says Foreign Fighters Coming From Iraq -- Yahoo News/Reuters

KABUL (Reuters) – With the reduction of violence in Iraq, foreign militants were now flooding into Afghanistan to join Taliban insurgents battling Afghan and international troops, the Afghan defense minister said Wednesday.

There was a 33 percent rise in insurgent attacks in Afghanistan in 2008, according to NATO-led forces.

Violence is expected to rise further in 2009 as Washington prepares to send up to 25,000 more troops into new areas of the southern Pashtun heartlands.

Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said there were about 15,000 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but their numbers were being swelled by foreign insurgents moving in from Iraq, where violence has fallen after a U.S. troop "surge" and other measures.

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More News On Afghanistan

'Terrorists' arriving from Iraq: Afghan minister -- AFP
Iraq militants 'in Afghan switch' -- BBC
Afghanistan says foreign fighters coming from Iraq -- International Herald Tribune
Afghan war may enter new phase -- Washington Times
Secret report recommends military shift in Afghanistan -- MSNBC
Plans Emerge for New Troop Deployments to Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal
U.S. to emphasize security goals in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Pentagon's new strategy in Afghanistan -- Press TV
US plan to arm militias scares some in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
Kyrgyzstan moves to close U.S. base that services troops in Afghanistan -- USA Today
Kyrgyzstan starts moves to close U.S. airbase -- Yahoo News/Reuters
US supply routes to Afghanistan under strain -- Yahoo News/AFP
Taliban Destroys a Key Bridge in Pakistan -- Washington Post
Taliban Hits NATO Supply Route -- New York Times
Suicide Bombing Ring is Brought Down in Afghanistan, Officials Say -- Los Angeles Times
Afghan Intelligence Breaks Up Alleged Kabul Suicide Bomb Cell -- VOA
Drug Operations Come Under Intensified Scrutiny, Spokesman Says -- AFPS
Russia says it wants to help US in Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
US Turns to Uzbekistan -- Christian Science Monitor
Afghan Supplies, Russian Demands -- New York Times opinion
Special envoy making first trip to Afghanistan -- Yahoo News/AP
Clinton: European allies should help ensure stability in Afghanistan -- China View
America’s long, long Afghan war -- Reuters
Military official: ‘Frankly, we don’t have’ an end game in Afghanistan. -- Think Progress
Is It Time For A New Plan For Afghanistan? -- NPR
Obama’s Vietnam -- Newsweek
Afghanistan Is Not Iraq, So US Best Not Surge Ahead Blindly -- US News and World Report
Obama Seeks Narrower Focus in Afghan War -- Washington Post opinion
The Dead End Of Afghanistan -- The Atlantic opinion
But What Are The Goals in Afghanistan? -- Washington Independent opinion