Modelled on how Sunni nationalist groups in Iraq were induced to turn their backs on al Qaeda, the first examples of the new US policy of "reconciling" the Taleban are now being seen.

The US will not ask New Zealand to send more troops to Afghanistan as part of Barack Obama's final surge, its new ambassador to Wellington says.

Barack Obama has announced he will send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan despite growing pessimism about the war.

In the wilds of war-torn Afghanistan, a US soldier came across a local man accompanied by a smart-looking black dog.