Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and the commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, are emphasizing the importance of NATO cooperation in the fight against insurgents. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to London Tuesday for talks with top British officials on an escalating row within NATO over troop levels in Afghanistan. The Bush administration wants NATO countries to commit more troops to Afghanistan, especially in areas of heavy fighting with Taliban forces. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

Afghan officials say more than 50 Taliban insurgents have been killed in clashes with Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces in southern Uruzgan province.

A new survey of public opinion in Afghanistan indicates a sharp rise in concern over security. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad that a majority of Afghans polled say they oppose the cultivation of opium poppies, but few believe the drug trade is linked to the Taliban insurgency.

The Taleban says it will never talk peace with the Afghan government as long as foreign troops remain in the country. Taleban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi said Sunday the militant group has no interest in taking government posts, and is only interested in the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is brushing away all calls to resign - and is trying to rally the nation behind his administration's support of coalition forces in Afghanistan. He vowed Monday to extend the mission.

Air strikes were called in after a joint U.S.-Afghan patrol was ambushed in the southern province of Oruzgan today. The coalition says the clash left about 11 Taliban fighters dead.

A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform blew himself up at a checkpoint in southern Afghanistan today, killing at least five police officers as they waited for their lunch.

In the wake of a series of high-profile incidents in which U.S. and NATO attacks have killed Afghan civilians, a senior American officer with responsibility for both forces says allied procedures for avoiding civilian casualties are adequate. The officer blames the Taleban for putting the civilians in danger.

NATO-led forces in Afghanistan admitted that civilians were among those killed in weekend strikes in Pakistan's Waziristan region. An RFE/RL correspondent, reporting from Peshawar, cited Pakistani military spokesman General Wahid Arshad as saying as many as 28 civilians, including women and children, were killed in June 23 rocket strikes in North and South Waziristan.

A Taliban spokesman says militants are changing their tactics in Afghanistan and will increasingly carry out attacks in Kabul.

A senior Afghan military officer in the southeastern part of the country says his forces are implementing the first Afghan-planned and executed operation to clear Taleban fighters from his area and establish government authority. The officer spoke from Afghanistan to reporters at the Pentagon.