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May 10, 2009

Petraeus: Al-Qaida No Longer Has Bases in Afghanistan
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=24277B7:A6F02AD83191E160539B005A5F5F16EE98CBE7246176B735&
 
General David Petraeus says al-Qaida has sustained, very serious losses
in Afghanistan in the last six to 10 months 
Gen. David Petraeus talks during the Landon Lecture Series at Kansas
State University in Manhattan, Kansas (File)The chief of U.S. military
forces in Central Asia and the Middle East says the al-Qaida terrorist
organization no longer has bases in Afghanistan. Army General David
Petraeus told U.S. television, CNN, on Sunday al-Qaida has sustained, in
his words, "very serious" losses in Afghanistan in the last six to 10
months. U.S.-led international troops and Afghan forces have been
fighting a growing insurgency in Afghanistan over the past year
involving Taliban militants and their allies. Petraeus says he agrees
with an assessment by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that al-Qaida is not
operating in the country. But, he says affiliates of the group still
have "enclaves and sanctuaries" in certain parts of eastern Afghanistan,
near the Pakistani border. The U.S. general says militant leaders in the
region primarily operate out of western Pakistan's lawless tribal
regions. Some information for this report was provided by AP. 


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