Security challenges in Afghanistan are significant: US

Washington: The recent terror attacks in Afghanistan shows the significant security challenges in the war-torn country, the White House has said stressing that US and NATO troops are committed to train Afghan forces to fight the extremists.

"I think this is just the latest illustration of how Afghanistan continues to be a dangerous place. The security challenges in that country are significant, particularly when you consider an attack like this on police officers," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters at his daily news conference yesterday.

The US and NATO allies have committed to stand with the Afghan people and the Afghan national security forces as they take full responsibility for the security situation in their own country, he said.

"That was a responsibility that they assumed a little over a year ago, and it has proved to be a challenging task. Afghanistan is a big country, and there are extremists with a lot of skill that have sought to take the fight to those security forces," Earnest said.

"But what we have seen is a willingness on the part of those security forces, even when sustaining losses, to fight for their country," he added.

Citing the example of Kunduz, where extremists overrun Afghan national security forces that were protecting the city and Afghan forces were forced to flee the city, Earnest said what they did was they reorganised and acted quickly, with the support of the US and our NATO allies, to within a couple of weeks, retake the city.

"So that is an indication of a couple of things. One is, it's an indication that additional training and equipping of Afghan national security forces is needed. And that is the first pillar of the ongoing mission of US troops and NATO troops that are still in Afghanistan," he said.

"But the second thing it illustrates is that it illustrates the commitment that the Afghan national security forces have to fighting for their country. And that's a good thing, and that bodes well for their long-term ability to fight extremists and eventually secure their country," Earnest said.