[08/March/2010]

Kabul, March 8 (Saba) US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Afghanistan today on a surprise visit to the country, according to Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

Gates admitted that international forces will face a lot of difficulties in their fights against Taliban militants in the upcoming days underlining the need for harder efforts to defeat them.

There are positive developments on the ground but it is still premature to win the war, he added.

It is worth noting that NATO and Afghan forces have been launching a joint military operation in northern Afghanistan, one of Taliban's strongholds, for three weeks now.

This operation in which 15000 troops are taking part is considered as one of the biggest military operations since the invasion of the country in 2001.

Saba