Coalition forces fear risein Afghan suicide attacks

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KABUL, Afghanistan -- Coalition intelligence sources report a worrying shift in insurgency tactics as the remnants of the Taliban and the al Qaeda network in Afghanistan increasingly turn to Iraq-style suicide attacks.

Coalition forces say they are bracing for more attacks as terrorists try to destabilize Afghanistan ahead of Sept. 18 parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, American aircraft bombarded a rebel hide-out with missiles and bombs, killing up to 76 insurgents in one of the deadliest battles since the Taliban's ouster almost four years ago, officials said yesterday.

A dozen Afghan policemen and soldiers also died in the fighting Tuesday that left bodies scattered across a southern mountainside and was sure to add to growing anxiety that an Iraq-style conflict is developing here. Five U.S. soldiers were wounded.

Defense Minister Rahim Wardak said Friday in an interview with the Associated Press that he had received intelligence that al Qaeda had brought a half-dozen Arab agents into Afghanistan in the past three weeks.

One suicide bomber attacked a funeral service for a pro-government cleric at a Kandahar mosque on June 1, killing 20 persons. Another rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into a U.S. convoy on June 13, injuring four servicemen, Mr. Wardak said.

The minister would not say how the suicide bombers entered the country, but coalition intelligence sources said men and arms usually are moved into Afghanistan through Pakistan.

Last week, members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan confirmed that they had received very specific intelligence about six suicide bombers.

ISAF troops in the city were warned to look out for cars of a specific make and color and with particular lettering on their sides. Security measures at ISAF camps were visibly augmented.

The alert level at the Canadian Camp Julien in southern Kabul was raised to "elevated" after somebody tried to plant a bomb on a road used by Canadian soldiers.