WASHINGTON, March 10: US forces in Afghanistan expect violent clashes with Al Qaeda-linked guerillas in coming months before security improves later in the year, a senior military official said on Thursday.

Navy Rear Admiral Robert Moeller, Central Command director for plans and policy, told a congressional hearing an upsurge in violence could stem from US and Nato forces extending their reach into parts of Afghanistan where the guerilla presence is greater.

“We anticipate that we are going to see a fairly violent spring and summer and then an improvement in overall conditions,” he told the House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia.

The 26-member NATO alliance is preparing to expand its International Security Assistance Force mission — already in the north, west and the capital Kabul — to the more volatile south and ultimately the east, raising its troop numbers to 16,000 from 9,000.

Adm Moeller played down the strategic threat posed by Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other groups.

“The overall trend line, though, is positive despite the fact that the data is what the data is with regard to US forces who have been killed in the recent past compared to the first couple years,” he told the subcommittee.

Adm Moeller described Al Qaeda, its allied Taliban remnants and two other groups as ‘patient, hidden and dangerous’ opponents of the US-led troops and the 26,000-strong Afghan army.

The Taliban “appeared tactically stronger on the battlefield this year and they demonstrate an increased willingness to use suicide bomber and IED (improvised explosive device) tactics,” he said.

“The Taliban do not have capability to exercise control over large areas of Afghanistan, but they are disruptive to reconstruction and reconciliation efforts,” said the admiral.

Another foe, the Taliban-linked Haqqani Tribal Network, was the “most tactically proficient” group but its goal was limited to gaining autonomy in eastern Afghanistan and among tribesmen in Pakistan, Moeller said.

A third Al Qaeda affiliate, the Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin was heavily involved in narcotics smuggling and “more of a mafia-like organization than an insurgent movement with national goals,” he said. —Reuters