Afghanistan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak says U.S. success in Iraq is prompting more foreign militants to fight in his country instead.

Wardak, at a news conference Tuesday, said that heightened fighting in his country, the worst since the U.S.-led coalition toppled its Taliban government in 2001, was in part caused by foreign Islamic militants heading for Afghanistan instead of Iraq, The New York Times reported.

Wardak said that the success of coalition forces in Iraq combined with developments in neighboring countries, have caused a major increase in the number of foreign fighters coming to Afghanistan.

There is no doubt that they are better equipped than before, he said. They are well trained, more sophisticated and their coordination is much better.

The Times said the neighboring countries Wardak was referring to probably included Pakistan, where Taliban and al-Qaida militants have bases in the remote and mountainous tribal regions along the border between the two countries.

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