WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- NATO's Supreme Allied Commander James Jones said he doesn't think the Taliban and al-Qaida can turn renewed violence into a full-scale Afghanistan insurgency.
Speaking at a Pentagon news briefing, the Marine general said the violence, however, will test the military alliance's soldiers as they move into the volatile southern regions of the country this summer, reports The Washington Post.
U.S.-led allied forces ousted the Taliban four years ago but violence continues in some parts of the country. Jones said the remnants of Taliban and al-Qaida in pockets of the country cannot "restart an insurgency of any size and major scope," the Post reported.
An earlier assessment of Afghanistan by U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, however, said "the Taliban-dominated insurgency remains capable and resilient," the Post report said.
Jones also noted growing cultivation and trade of opium poppies remain the "most serious problem" facing Afghanistan, the report said.
