ISI 'squarely behind' deadly Taliban attacks on U.S. bases in Afghanistan: Analyst

Washington, June 22 (ANI): Referring to the recent spate of attacks on U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, Western analysts have warned that the attacks serve as growing evidence that Pakistani Intelligence agency (ISI) is stepping up its support of insurgent groups ahead of the scheduled 2014 departure of U.S. combat troops from the country.

The attacks point to a resilient Taliban with a steady supply of arms, apparently being supplied from Pakistan, and one that U.S. troops, try as they might, are proving unable to interrupt, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

On Wednesday, two attacks in eastern Afghanistan killed three U.S. troops and at least 25 Afghans, prompting the U.S. Embassy to condemn the Taliban's "murderous campaign."

According to Jeffrey Dressler, a senior analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, the sheer volume of explosives involved in the attack points to ISI links with an insurgency "that's proving to be a continuous challenge" for U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan.

"The fact that these guys can move trucks full of explosives across the border" is troubling, Dressler added.

"By not taking action, Pakistani forces "are signaling their tacit approval of this stuff," he said.

These sorts of behaviors, including "increased collusion" between the ISI and Pakistani-based insurgent groups, "are likely to increase" with the drawdown of US forces, Dressler warns, "unless you can get into these places (in eastern Afghanistan) and go on the offensive like we did in Helmand and Kandahar (provinces of southern Afghanistan)", he added. (ANI)