Terrorists collaborating in Afghanistan

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says progress is being made despite the emergence of new terrorists groups and increased cooperation among militants.

Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 82 and regional command east, says there has been steady progress in Eastern Afghanistan throughout the year including progress made by Afghan national security forces to increase capabilities. He also says the Afghan national police have continued to expand capacity despite being developmentally behind the Afghan Army's progress, the Pentagon reported.

Rodriguez said one-third of the Combined Joint Task Force 82 troops are now taking part in counterinsurgency operations in the east where Taliban and al-Qaida forces have found safe haven and increased collaboration among other terrorist organizations.

"We continue to keep the pressure up on the terrorist networks in Afghanistan," Rodriguez said in a statement. " … There are several groups that fit the description of a terrorist. The leading one among those is al-Qaida, and we are seeing an increase in cooperation between the insurgents as well as the terrorists led by al-Qaida. They are increasing in their coordination as well some of the resourcing of operations. And they continue to evolve, so that sometimes it's difficult to tell who's doing what."

With additional U.S. troops being sent to Afghanistan, Rodriguez says he plans to station them in the regional command south and place some troops in the regional command west. The move to station additional troops in the west prompted concerns that Iran, which borders Afghanistan's west, has begun playing a larger role in the country.

Rodriguez called any influence from Iran "militarily insignificant" and says the main reason for the deployment is to head off any attempt by militants to increase operations in the spring.