Washington -- A rising number of Western recruits, including Americans, are traveling to Afghanistan and Pakistan to attend paramilitary training camps for militant Islamists, The Washington Post reported late Sunday.

Citing unnamed US and European counterterrorism officials, the newspaper said the flow of recruits has continued unabated in spite of an intensified campaign over the past year by the CIA to eliminate Al-Qaeda and Taliban commanders in drone missile attacks.

Since January, at least 30 recruits from Germany have traveled to Pakistan for training, said the report, which cited German security sources.

About 10 people have returned to Germany this year, fueling concerns that fresh plots are in the works against European targets, the paper said.

"We think this is sufficient to show how serious the threat is," The Post quotes a senior German counterterrorism official as saying.

German security services have been on high alert since last month, when groups affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaeda issued several videos warning that an attack on German targets was imminent if the government did not bring home its forces from Afghanistan, the paper noted.

There are about 3,800 German troops in the country, the third-largest NATO contingent after those of the United States and Britain.

German officials say Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders are trying to exploit domestic opposition in Germany to the war, The Post noted.

AFP/Expatica