Taliban may be gaining upper hand

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- The strategy of a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan is not to control territory but to outlast NATO and U.S. forces, the militant group's leaders assert.

The militants' tenacity and ferocity seen from their increasing attacks in the country have raised alarms in Kabul and in NATO capitals, The New York Times reported Monday.

Taliban leaders say their new strategy to outlast Western forces in the country is helping them draw a steady stream of recruits, the report said. Many of these recruits come from across the border in Pakistan.

Afghan and Western officials say they believe Mullah Mohammad Omar, the one-eye reclusive leader of the Taliban, is based in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's border province of Baluchistan. From there, the Taliban claim, he runs a shadow government and has officials and commanders throughout Afghanistan, the report said.

With such arrangements and sanctuaries, Western military officials say it will be hard to put down the Taliban, although some NATO officials say Taliban forces cannot defeat their forces in a direct fight.

U.S. officials have stepped up pressure on Pakistan to do more in their anti-terrorism efforts, the report said. The pressure includes recent U.S. intelligence reports pointing to ties between Pakistan's spy service and the militants.