By David Morgan WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Pakistani operations against militants near the Afghanistan border have had a slight effect on cross-border Taliban and al Qaeda attacks in Afghanistan, a U.S. commander said on Wednesday. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, who leads counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan, said cross-border attacks were running at double last year's pace in June before Pakistan deployed more troops to confront militant tribesmen in North Waziristan. "Right now Pakistan is executing a significant military operation over there," Rodriguez told Pentagon reporters via video link from Afghanistan. Without giving specific figures, he said the number of cross-border attacks have "decreased a little in the last month mainly again because of the Pakistani military operations being conducted at the present time." Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf deployed new troops to the Waziristan region this month after militant tribesmen, accused of supporting the Taliban and harboring al Qaeda, scrapped a 10-month-old peace deal with the government. The Pakistani army said it has killed at least 54 militants in clashes since Saturday, while the increased troop presence has fanned speculation of a coming offensive against al Qaeda cells believed to be operating training camps in the region. Rodriguez estimated that the number of foreign fighters entering Afghanistan from Pakistan has risen 50 to 60 percent from last year, largely as a result of increased al Qaeda activity in Pakistan. "The al Qaeda network is the one that brings most of the foreign fighters in," the general said. Once again, he provided no actual figures but acknowledged that the number of foreign fighters, mainly from the Middle East, could be small. He also said the number of larger scale Taliban attacks has declined from a high point in May and June, as a result of operations by U.S., NATO and Pakistani forces. The operations had "a significant impact on their leadership that has disrupted their capability to conduct many of those large attacks," he said. Rodriguez also reiterated a Defense Department assertion that there is no specific evidence the Iranian government is supporting insurgents in Afghanistan. "There has been some militarily insignificant arms, ammunition and explosions moved through Iran, but there's no specific tie to the leadership of the country," he said.
