U.S. says Taliban attacks may rise this year

By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Taliban has created a "resilient insurgency" in Afghanistan and will likely maintain or increase the pace of its attacks this year, the Pentagon said on Friday.

In a report to the U.S. Congress, the Pentagon also singled out the safe havens for insurgents in Pakistan's border areas as the biggest threat to security in Afghanistan.

It said Washington and its allies had made substantial progress since ousting the Taliban from power after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States but lasting success would take time and require much more than just military means.

"The Taliban regrouped after its fall from power and have coalesced into a resilient insurgency," the report said.

In a sign of the increasing anxiety in Washington and other Western capitals about rising violence in Afghanistan, Congress ordered the comprehensive report when it approved the Pentagon's annual budget for this year.

The report said NATO and U.S. forces had killed some key insurgent leaders and removed sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.

"Despite these setbacks, the Taliban is likely to maintain or even increase the scope and pace of its terrorist attacks and bombings in 2008," it said.

"The Taliban will challenge the control of the Afghan government in rural areas, especially in the south and east. The Taliban will also probably attempt to increase its presence in the west and north," the report added.