An aid worker who witnessed first hand the Afghanistan famine claims a handful of young Muslim men from Bradford have joined forces with the Taliban.

Zulfiqar Ali said there was a growing feeling among younger members of the community of the need to help the Taliban in their fight against the West.

And he said groups of men from Bradford had felt so incensed by the civilian deaths in Afghanistan that they decided to fight with the Taliban.

But the claims were rejected by community leaders who said the different strands of Islam followed by British Muslims and the Taliban meant the likelihood of people going to Afghanistan to fight was unlikely.

Mr Ali, 33, is north east area fundraiser for Islamic Relief, based in Carlisle Road, Bradford, and travelled to Afghanistan in July to deliver humanitarian aid. He said: "I know of a handful of Muslim men aged between 20 and 30 who pray at the same mosque as me who have gone to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban."

Tony Blair has warned that any British citizens found fighting against British forces will face charges of treason. "There is a split in feelings between the elder and younger members of the Muslim community," said Mr Ali. "The elders are calling for peaceful ways to end the conflict and that is what is being debated in the mosques, however the younger ones are increasingly expressing intentions to physically help the Taliban."

Liaqat Hussain, a trustee of the Central Mosque in Lumb Lane, Manningham, said: "The Taliban follow the Saudi branch of Islam, but the majority of people in the UK do not.

"A lot of people have sympathies with the Taliban but that doesn't mean they're going to fight with them against the British army."

Sher Azam, president of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said it had always asked the community not to join the Taliban.

The call for calm was taken up by Prince Charles in an appeal. In a speech at the London office of Islamic Relief he said: "It remains, more than ever, the task of moderate people of all faiths and creeds - in other words, the vast majority of us - to speak out against those who hold extreme views.