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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._afghan27.html

Sunday, August 27, 2006 - Page updated at 12:00 AM

U.S. general: Pakistan, Taliban not conspiring
By FISNIK ABRASHI

The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan — A coalition airstrike in southern Afghanistan killed a Taliban commander and 15 other militants, the U.S. military said Saturday. A top American general, meanwhile, said insurgents are still using neighboring Pakistan as a base for infiltration.

Two French soldiers were killed and two others were wounded in the volatile east on Friday, while at least 13 other insurgents were killed in clashes with police and NATO in the south, the U.S. military said.

On Saturday, Canadian troops in the south mistakenly killed a policeman and wounded six other people, including two civilians, according to NATO.

Afghanistan is experiencing its worst bout of violence since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime for hosting al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. More than 1,600 people, mostly militants, have died in the past four months, according to an Associated Press tally of violent incidents reported by U.S., NATO and Afghan officials.

Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said militants are using Pakistan as a base to infiltrate into Afghanistan, but he said the Pakistani government is not conspiring with them.

"I think that Pakistan has done an awful lot in going after al-Qaida and it's important that they don't let the Taliban groups be organized in the Pakistani side of the border," he said in Bagram, where the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan is located.

Abizaid said he does not believe accusations of collusion between Pakistan's government and the resurgent Taliban rebels or other extremists.

"You do not order your soldiers in the field against an enemy in order to play some sort of a game with neighboring countries," he said.

Afghanistan repeatedly has criticized Pakistan for not doing enough to prevent Taliban militants and other rebels from crossing the border.

Pakistan says it does all it can to tackle insurgents and has deployed 80,000 troops along the frontier.