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Report: Al-Qaida targeting Euro tunnel

PARIS, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The 31-mile tunnel connecting England and France has been targeted by al-Qaida terrorists for attack, French and U.S. intelligence agencies say.

Security has been heightened to its highest level amid fears the attack will take place during the Christmas season, The London Observer reported Sunday. Traffic in the tunnel is already increased due to airline disruptions from days of heavy fog, and Eurostar trains are jammed, the newspaper said.

More than 8 million passengers traveled on Eurostar trains last year.

The French DGSE intelligence agency and the CIA said levels of "chatter," or communication between suspected terrorists hasn't been as high as current levels since 2001, the report said.

The DGSE report to the French government also mentions an al-Qaida project for a "wave of attacks in an unidentified European country planned and run from Syria and Iraq" between September 2006 to April 2007.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, director-general of Britain's MI5 domestic intelligence agency, has said British intelligence is monitoring more than 200 suspected terror networks and 1,600 people in Britain.

British train strike delays holiday travel

LONDON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A 24-hour strike by Central Trains' senior conductors forced the cancellation of 400 runs, significantly delaying holiday traveling throughout Britain.

Sky News reported the strike by the 580 conductors caused holiday travel to virtually come to a standstill, and three planned days of such strikes could have a direct effect on more than 2,000 trains.

The work stoppage, whose impact was increased after bad weather grounded previous British Airways flights, was part of an effort by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers to get better working conditions and holiday pay.

The planned days of strikes would mainly affect Britain's East and West Midlands, but could impact train travel to area cities like Manchester and the Welsh capital of Cardiff, the report said.

Sky News said the Midland Mainline was able to run a regular schedule Sunday after its staff's pay demands were met at the last minute.

Five Taliban fighters dead in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Afghan officials say five Taliban fighters have been killed by a NATO airstrike or by the Taliban's own explosives.

A spokesman for Afghan Interior Ministry Zmaray Bashari confirmed that three of the militants died during an NATO airstrike in the country's Helmand province, while the other two fighters were killed as they were planting a roadside bomb, the Kuwait news agency KUNA reported.

The spokesman said two of the soldiers killed in the air strike were later identified as a mid-level Taliban commander and two Pakistani nationals.

The two other militants were killed while planting a bomb near Lashkargah, the Helmand province's capital city, on a road typically used by both local and Afghan forces.

Meanwhile, five people with alleged links to al-Qaida and the Taliban were arrested in the Nangarhar province's capital of Jalalabad, the report said.

KUNA said a coalition spokesman reported the five men, of unidentified nationalities, were detained by Afghan and coalition forces during a raid.

Dodd, Graham disagree on troop surge

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Prominent U.S. Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., disagree on whether a surge in U.S. troops will help bring stability to Iraq.

But both men told ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopolous" Sunday that a political settlement is the only long-term solution for the troubled country.

Both visited Iraq last week.

Dodd, who only last week appeared to support an increase in U.S. troops, said he changed his mind after talking with U.S. military leaders.

"The commanders that I talked to last week and soldiers on the ground (in Iraq) felt that a surge in troops, some 15,000-30,000 additional troops, was not going to contribute to the political or diplomatic solution that Iraq cries out for."

Dodd called a temporary troop increase, which President Bush is considering, "a tactic in search of a strategy."

"The security environment in Baghdad has very much deteriorated," Graham said. "You've not going to have a political solution with this much violence. So the surge of troops is, I think, very necessary."

Volunteer service preferred over draft

WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- President Bush's call to increase U.S. Army and Marine Corps numbers could be met through volunteers, not reinstating a draft, military leaders say.

While Bush gave no specific number, the call for a troop increase was hailed by military leaders, the Los Angeles Times said Sunday. Some said raising incentives and adding recruiters, among other things, should translate to an additional 10,000 a year in the current all-volunteer system, which would cost at least an extra $1.2 billion annually.

Even though the unpopularity of the Iraqi war makes recruiting difficult, officials said volunteerism is better because those who enlist want to be in the military, which is preferable to forcing enlistment through a draft.

After missing 2005 recruiting goals, the Army increased incentives and instituted a new marketing campaign. The 2006 recruiting season, which ended in October, saw the Army pull in 80,635 recruits, exceeding its 80,000 goal.

However, Charles Moskos, a military sociologist and Northwestern University professor emeritus, said a volunteer military draws disproportionately from the working class.

Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, proposed reinstating the draft, in part to address disparity concerns.