Nato finds Stinger in Taleban tail

KABUL - American and Nato forces are following up reports that the Taleban have received vital components for shoulder-fired Stinger missiles from Pakistani officials enabling them to be used against helicopters in Afghanistan.

It is claimed that the missiles have been fitted with new battery packs allegedly provided by the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, in the past four months.

Western sources say they are not sure whether the supplies, needed to make the United States-made missiles operational, were provided by rogue elements within the Pakistani secret service, or approved at a high level.

However, the effect of re-arming the Stingers could be to make Nato aircraft vulnerable while Britain is deploying almost 6000 soldiers in southern Afghanistan.

It is believed that the battery packs had been fitted in between 18 and 20 heat-seeking Stingers which can hit targets at around 3600m. They are reported to have been handed over in the Quetta region in Pakistan known to be used by the Taleban to launch attacks in southern Afghanistan. US and Nato forces have carried out a series of searches along the border areas in the hunt for the missiles, with a large-scale operation a month ago. It is not known if Stingers have been recovered.

The Pakistan Government yesterday denied the accusation as "baseless".

- INDEPENDENT