OPIUM, AL-QAIDA MAY FUND TALIBAN, U.N. OFFICIAL SAYS

KABUL, Afghanistan - The Taliban is most likely paying for its recent
insurgency with drug money from Afghanistan's opium fields, but may also be
receiving money from some Middle Eastern countries and Al-Qaida
organizations, the head of the U.N. committee on sanctions on Al-Qaida and
the Taliban said Tuesday.

"There is a strong suspicion of a linkage between drug trafficking and the
increased Taliban activity," Heraldo Munoz, the chair of the committee,
said at the end of his visit to Afghanistan. "One cannot discount, however,
that money may come from some Middle Eastern countries."

Since the committee imposed sanctions -- including a travel ban and the
freezing of assets of some 150 Taliban members, 150 Al-Qaida members and
100 organizations linked to Al-Qaida -- terrorists have become more
sophisticated in moving money around the world, he said. By using couriers
and transfers of cash, they are making detection more difficult, Munoz said.

Large opium crop

The Taliban has been particularly active in recent months in southern
provinces where there is a significant poppy crop, and Afghan and foreign
officials have suggested that some of the fighting has been aimed at
gaining control of the opium.

Munoz welcomed the U.N. Security Council's decision to expand the mandate
of the International Security Assistance Force to allow peacekeepers to be
deployed beyond the capital, Kabul, saying the force could help control the
drug trade and improve security.

The Afghan government and the U.N. mission in Afghanistan also welcomed the
decision. President Hamid Karzai said he was "glad the voice of Afghans for
better security has been heard by the international community," and the
foreign minister, Abdullah, said it would send a strong message to the
"enemies of peace" that the commitment of the international community was
long term.

The United Nations nevertheless warned that the Afghan people would be
disappointed if the deployment was not early and quick enough to combat the
serious security problems in the country, and called on NATO members to
provide the necessary troops and resources for the peacekeeping mission to
expand.

But Afghan military and police officials reacted warily to the news,
showing the age-old Afghan aversion to foreign troops. Many representatives
of non-governmental organizations were also critical, saying the world was
shortchanging Afghanistan with a deployment that was making a pretense at
aiding security but that was inadequate for the job.

Overnight, hundreds of Afghan soldiers backed by U.S. soldiers and
helicopters have attacked a suspected Taliban hide-out in southern
Afghanistan, killing at least four rebels and an Afghan soldier, police
said Tuesday.

Fighting continues

The raid started Monday in the Chaar Cheno district, about 90 miles
northeast of Kandahar, after troops surrounded the suspected camp, said
police chief Hajji Mohammad Akhtar.

The attack was continuing Tuesday, Akhtar said, although it was not clear
if there were fresh casualties. He gave no other details.

Fighters from the hard-line Islamist militia, which was ousted in late 2001
for harboring terrorists, are believed to have stepped up attacks against
government troops, aid workers and U.S.-led coalition forces in recent weeks.