WASHINGTON - Worried about increasing insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, the U.S. military is sending extra air power there by shifting an aircraft carrier battle group away from the Iraq war.
Defense officials said Tuesday that the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its escort vessels were moved out of the Persian Gulf and to the Gulf of Oman, shortening the time that the carrier's strike planes must fly to support operations in Afghanistan.
Since violence is down dramatically in Iraq, U.S. military planners believe it is possible to focus some air capabilities away from Iraq and more on Afghanistan.
The Navy routinely moves ships in and out of the Persian Gulf, where they not only support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but serve as a show of force to Iran and sign of support to regional allies.
Meanwhile, Afghan investigators have found evidence that the deadly suicide bombing attack Monday against the Indian Embassy in Kabul this week was planned with the help of a foreign intelligence agency, a spokesman for Afghanistan's president said Tuesday.
Humayun Hamidzada, chief spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, pointedly avoided direct references to Pakistan during a news conference but hinted that the scale and complexity of the strike against the embassy bore the markings of previous attacks linked to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Tuesday that his government was not involved in the attack and had no interest in undermining Afghanistan's security.
The Indian Embassy attack killed at least 41 people and wounded 150 others.
