LONDON, Feb 5: Senior researchers at Britain’s International Institute for Strategic Studies warned on Tuesday that “neo-Taliban” groups operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas may soon become a global menace.

“They have the potential to turn a local threat into a trans-national threat,” said Nigel Inkster, who directs a risk analysis unit at the London-based security think tank. “There is some evidence they were involved with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and that they have dispatched terrorists to the United Kingdom and Spain.”

He said international terrorism remains a “growth industry” and that the groups in Pakistan had earned the “dubious honour” of making the most strides during the past year.

In its annual report on the world’s military forces, the institute found that the situation in Iraq had improved because of the “surge” in US troops ordered by President George W. Bush.

But director-general John Chipman warned these advances would be swiftly undone if the US draws down its troop strength too quickly. He said US troop levels had to stay high to prevent an increase in Shia military activity, provide security for any provincial elections and keep violence in Kurdistan from increasing.

Chipman said the prospect of US military action against Iran had diminished in the last year because US intelligence reports downplayed Iran’s nuclear threat, but said that Iran still appeared to be developing its nuclear weapons potential.—AP