The top American commander in Iraq tells The Associated Press there are signs that al-Qaida’s senior leaders may be diverting fighters from the war in Iraq to the Afghan frontier.

Gen. David Petraeus said in an interview Saturday in his office in Baghdad that fighters who otherwise would have been sent to carry out bombings and other attacks in Iraq may be going to the rugged, lawless tribal areas of Pakistan along the Afghan border.

He says there are intelligence signs that the heavy pounding al-Qaida has taken in Iraq lately may be causing leaders of the terrorist network to reconsider their priorities.