The British government has defended its strategy in Afghanistan, a day after eight British soldiers were killed there.

A total of 184 British troops have now been killed in Afghanistan since the start of the war in 2002.

British foreign secretary David Miliband has rejected claims that British forces do not have the right equipment and says Britain must stay in Afghanistan to stop the country becoming an incubator of international terrorism.

“Al Qaeda is a global movement, but its place of choice is the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan – everybody agrees on that,” he said.

“So the mission is absolutely clear, is to back our own security.

“The strategy to deliver that is first to build up the Afghan security forces so that they’re able to defend their own country rather than being rolled over by the Taliban.

“Second, to build up Afghan governance which is a critical element.”

US President Barack Obama agrees the international community will have to start focusing its attention on developing Afghanistan’s capabilities, so Afghans can take greater responsibility for controlling their own security.

Mr Obama wants a new push to train Afghanistan’s army and police after the country’s August elections, he said on Saturday (local time) during his visit to Ghana in an interview with Britain’s Sky News.

“The most important thing we can do is to combine our military efforts with effective diplomacy and development so that Afghans feel a greater stake and have a greater capacity to secure their country,” he said.

“Post-election … I think we need to start directing our attention to how do we create an Afghan army, an Afghan police, how do we work with the Pakistanis effectively, so that they are the ones who are really at the forefront at controlling their own countries.

“All of us are going to have to do an evaluation after the Afghan election to see what more we can do.

“It may not be on the military side, it might be on the development side, providing Afghan farmers alternatives to poppy crops, making sure that we are effectively training a judiciary system and a rule of law in Afghanistan that people trust.”

- BBC/AFP