International forces "not winning" their battle against Taliban: ISAF Commander

London, Mar 9 (ANI): The head of NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), General David McKiernan, has said that international forces are "not winning" their battle against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

General McKiernan was quoted by The Telegraph as saying, "There are other areas, large areas in the southern Afghanistan especially but in parts of the east, where we are not winning, where more has to happen along multiple lines of operation in order for anybody by any metric to say that the Afghans are winning or the efforts of the coalition are winning."

His remarks came a day after President Barack Obama also accepted that America was not winning the war in Afghanistan. Even British Foreign Secretary David Miliband had recently warned of a "strategic stalemate" in some parts of the country.

General McKiernan has called for tens of thousands of reinforcements and President Obama has ordered 17,000 more US soldiers to the country.

On the other hand, President Obama has expressed his willingness to talk with moderate elements of the Taliban.

Thinly stretched British forces have held position in a string of district centres, but much of the countryside remains dangerous for government officials or aid workers.

A deadly insurgency campaign of roadside bombings has seen the British suffer their deadliest 12 months since the Afghan campaign began.

A combat brigade of several thousand US marines is due to arrive in Helmand this summer and fighting is expected to intensify further. (ANI)