Nato military commanders are set to make a further request from member states for more troops and resources to fight the Taleban in Afghanistan.

The new Nato commander in Afghanistan, Gen Dan McNeill, will call for 2,000 extra troops to patrol the country's border with Pakistan.

Troop numbers under Nato command in Afghanistan have risen from 9,000 to more than 33,000 over nine months.

The forces expect a Taleban offensive in southern regions in the spring.

Gen McNeill is also expected to ask for more helicopters and special forces from member states, during the meeting of Nato defence ministers in the Spanish city of Seville.

Slow pace

The BBC's defence and security correspondent Rob Watson says this is something of a crunch meeting for Nato because its mission in Afghanistan has proved more difficult than expected.

Some Nato countries like Italy, Spain and France have been reluctant to increase troops numbers or drop restrictions on their soldiers going to more dangerous parts of Afghanistan.

So far only the US and UK have pledged to send more troops. Germany has agreed to send more reconnaissance planes.

Although Nato believes it inflicted serious damage on the Taleban last year, commanders have frequently complained they do not have enough troops or the flexibility to achieve an outright victory.

There has also been frustration at Nato over the slow pace of economic re-development programmes that it believes are needed to convince ordinary Afghans that the continued international presence in the country is worthwhile.

PHOTO CAPTION

Afghan boys play soccer in front of the former King of Afghanistan Darul Aman's palace, destroyed during the civil war, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2007. (AP)

BBC