Afghanistan, always overlooked, always forgotten, seems to also always be the rallying point for jihadis, at least since the Soviet era. “Al Qaeda luring recruits to fight in Afghanistan,” from the Associated Press, July 18:
A fresh influx of jihadi fighters is being drawn to Afghanistan from Turkey, Central Asia, Chechnya and the Middle East, one more sign that al Qaeda is regrouping on what is fast becoming the most active front of the war on terror groups.
More foreigners are infiltrating Afghanistan because of a recruitment drive by al Qaeda, as well as a burgeoning insurgency that has made movement easier across the border from Pakistan, U.S. officials, militants and experts say. For the past two months, Afghanistan has overtaken Iraq in deaths of U.S. and allied troops, and nine American soldiers were killed Sunday at a remote base in Kunar province in the deadliest attack in years.