NATO defence chiefs today held their first meeting on Afghanistan since taking over military command of the south of the country, as insurgent violence continued and a huge suicide blast in Kabul killed 16 people.
High on the agenda at the talks in the Polish capital of Warsaw was a call by NATO leaders for more troops and equipment for Afghanistan.
Canadian Colonel Brett Boudreau, spokesperson for the chairman of the NATO military committee, insisted that the call for more manpower and tools on the ground was not a distress signal.
Colonel Boudreau said 85%of NATO's requirements in Afghanistan were being met at present but added that 'the most challenging operation in NATO history' needed more, given the lack of support from untrained locals.
16 people, including two US soldiers, were killed and 29 injured in a powerful car bomb blast in Kabul.
The blast was about 100 metres away from the US embassy, in an area that is close to the Supreme Court and a roundabout named after the late anti-Taliban resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Massoud was killed in a suicide blast on 9 September 2001 carried out by men posing as television journalists who are believed to have been members of al-Qaeda.
The city has started a series of events to commemorate the death.
