The Chief US military commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has warned that more forces are needed within the next year or the war against the Taliban will be lost.
General McChrystal is widely expected to make a formal request to increase the 62,000-strong US force.
He noted the campaign in Afghanistan 'has been historically under-resourced and remains so today, inadequate resources will likely result in failure'.
Meanwhile, the funerals have taken place at St Peter's in Rome of six Italian soldiers who were killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul, last week.
Four other soldiers were injured and ten Afghan civilians were killed.
The attack was the worst loss of life suffered by the Italian military since being deployed to Afghanistan.
Foreign forces in Afghanistan are experiencing their deadliest year since the war began eight years ago with more than 350 deaths so far in 2009.
