NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has chaired an extraordinary meeting aimed at finding more troops to combat the tenacious insurgency in southern Afghanistan, but alliance members have so far ignored the appeal.

The meeting on Monday with NATO ambassadors followed a call last week by the alliance's military chief, US General James Jones, for reinforcements of up to 2,500 troops to deal with increasing attacks by the Taliban militia, ousted from power in 2001.

Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said the informal talks were to inform the 26 NATO allies about developments in Afghanistan and look at ways to generate troops, without making decisions on numbers or who might provide them.

NATO is expected to hold a "troop generation meeting" on Wednesday at its military headquarters in Mons, southern Belgium, he added.

NATO's manning difficulties also come amid deep concern that nations which promised aid and donations in January to the conflict-torn country may be preparing to renege on their pledges.

An unnamed military source in Kabul told The Times: "We're not just looking for extra troops. We want a proper battle group of fighting soldiers who are prepared to confront the Taliban in southern Afghanistan."

"No one seems to want to commit combat troops."

NATO now leads more than 8,000 troops in the restive south, and throughout the country some 20,000 soldiers from 37 countries.

More than 90 foreign soldiers have died in combat this year in Afghanistan, which has seen a spike in violence linked to the extremist Taliban movement that the US-led coalition toppled from government in late 2001.

PHOTO CAPTION

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer speaks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, September 6, 2006. (Reuters)