political news

The government has restated a target of removing UK troops from Afghanistan by 2014.

Leaked documents to a Sunday newspaper suggested a timetable for a phased transition to Afghan forces could begin within months.

But Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said 2014 remained the target for the handover of security control to Afghan forces.

Earlier, it was revealed that aid to the country is to be increased by 40%.

During and interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the defence secretary refused to comment on the Independent on Sunday's report on an accelerated timetable for troop withdrawals.

"It has always been our aim to be successful in the mission, and the mission has always said that the Afghan national security forces would be able to deal with their own security by 2014," he said.

Blueprint for withdrawal

But he said only combat troops would be expected to be withdrawn at that time, with a continued presence likely for training.

Mr Cameron's aim of 2015 was "quite conservative by comparison", he said.

Dr Fox went on: "As you would expect I would not comment on any leaked document but a leaked draft document for a potential communique of a conference that hasn't yet happened is, I think, quite a leak."

It has been reported that Afghan President Hamid Karzai will use a forthcoming international conference to publish a blueprint for the withdrawal of international troops by 2014.

Meanwhile, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell outlined plans to increase spending on aid projects in Afghanistan by 40%.

He told the Politics Show the government had been looking "very carefully" at the way money was being spent in Afghanistan.

"We've found some additional funding from less good programmes, so in principle we have an additional 40% money going into the development budget," he said.

It is believed the money for Afghanistan would be used to stabilise the most insecure areas, with more policing, emergency food and medicine, and thousands of job and training opportunities.

Shadow International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander called on the minister to clarify exactly how the aid money would be spent.

He said: "Thanks to the efforts of the last government, the UK was already the second-largest donor to Afghanistan and Helmand is already amongst the most heavily aided regions on earth.

"The primary challenge in those areas affected by the insurgency has not been a lack of money but a lack of security."

BBC deputy political editor James Landale said the government is "using foreign aid, not just to help people around the world but also to further British foreign policy".

"That's quite a change. It's also an answer, perhaps, to MPs who ask why aid budgets are being protected when so many others are being cut," said our correspondent.

The UK death toll in Afghanistan since operations began in 2001 now stands at 322, with four British serviceman dying since Friday.

At least three people were killed on Sunday by a suicide bomber in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The bombing came despite heightened security across Kabul ahead of the international conference of foreign ministers on Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon are among those scheduled to attend.

The serviceman, from The Royal Dragoon Guards, died on Monday in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. His next of kin have been told.

Lt Col James Carr-Smith praised the soldier's "courage and sacrifice".

His death brings the total number of UK personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 311.

The soldier was attached to the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles Battle Group.

"He was part of a screening force that was providing protection to enable the building of a road in the Babaji area such that local Afghans could move more freely when he was struck by an explosion," Lt Col Carr-Smith said.

"He died in the course of his duty and among his fellow soldiers. His courage and sacrifice will not be forgotten. We will remember him."

Six suicide bombers targeted the office of Development Alternatives, provincial governor Mohammad Omar said.

Afghan officials said three foreigners were killed: a German, a Filipino and a Briton. Two Afghans were also killed.

Police said 20 others were wounded in the attack. A Taliban spokesman said the group had carried out the attack.

"The first suicide attacker detonated at the entrance, the second detonated inside the premises, killing one foreign national," AFP news agency quoted the governor as saying.

Gunshots could be heard from inside the compound and smoke billowed from the building, which was then surrounded by Nato and Afghan forces.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the dawn attack, saying it was the work of people who "don't want the people of Afghanistan to have a prosperous life".

Such attacks are increasing in number and sophistication, often resulting in higher civilian and military casualties, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul.

A Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid was quoted by AFP as saying: "This morning six Taliban suicide bombers attacked the United States development organisation branch."

Development Alternatives is a USAID contractor which provides social and economic development assistance in developing countries. It has been in Kunduz for the past few months.

Gen Petraeus has made clear Nato and the Afghan government must work hand in hand, a BBC correspondent says.

His anti-insurgency strategy in Iraq won praise and he hopes to repeat it.

His predecessor, Gen Stanley McChrystal, was sacked after he and his aides mocked and criticized political leaders in Washington and Kabul.

Gen Petraeus has already warned the Taliban militants are confident and resilient but he has overcome unwinnable situations before, the BBC's Quentin Somerville reports from Kabul.

He arrived in Afghanistan on Friday night and spent Saturday meeting US, Afghan and other officials, delivering a speech to some 1,700 invited guests on the lawn of the US embassy in Kabul.

"Civilian and military, Afghan and international, we are part of one team with one mission," Gen Petraeus said.

"On this important endeavour, co-operation is not optional"

Gen Petraeus has already warned that the conflict may become more difficult before major improvements are won.

He and US President Barack Obama have both insisted a change of personnel at the top does not mean a change in strategy.

"This is a tough mission, there is nothing easy about it," the general said on Saturday.

"But working together we can achieve progress and we can achieve our mutual objective."

The gathering on the lawn was upbeat with a rock band playing while dignitaries sat in tents eating popcorn, hamburgers and ice cream, the Associated Press reports.

But the positive tone was dampened by talk of Friday's deadly attack on a house used by an American aid organisation in the northern city of Kunduz, and the accidental killing of two Afghan civilians during a raid in the south, the news agency adds.

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry welcomed Gen Petraeus at the embassy gathering, saying: "Welcome aboard. You are welcome at this embassy 24-7."

Mr Eikenberry was one of the US officials criticised by Gen McChrystal in the Rolling Stone article that led to his sacking.

The marine's next of kin have been informed of the death, which happened on Thursday.

It takes the total number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 310.

The previous soldier to be killed died on Sunday in a firefight with insurgents in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

Four other Royal Marines were killed in Afghanistan over a four-day period last month.

Insurgents have attacked Nato forces in eastern Afghanistan.

Several attackers have been killed in the Taliban attack on a base at an airfield outside Jalalabad, near the border with Pakistan.

Gunmen set off a car bomb and fired rocket-propelled grenades, and reports say the fighting continues. There are no reports of Nato casualties.

The attack comes a day after US Gen David Petraeus warned of an "industrial strength insurgency" in the country.

Gen Petraeus, who is set to take over command of the US military in Afghanistan, also warned on Tuesday that fighting "may get more intense in the next few months".

He is due to take up his post as Nato commander in Afghanistan following the dramatic departure of Gen Stanley McChrystal last week.

The attack began at 0730 local time (0330 BST), with insurgents hitting the airport from different directions.

A Nato spokesman said the perimeter of the base had not been breached.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said six suicide attackers had taken part in the assault.

The attack is yet another example of the increasingly sophisticated assaults favoured by the Taliban, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul.

These commando-style operations are increasing in numbers, and often result in higher civilian and military casualties.

A total of 100 Nato troops serving in Afghanistan were killed in June, making it the deadliest month for the alliance since the US-led invasion of 2001.

An Afghan army-led operation is taking place in nearby Kunar, where 600 troops are attempting to rout about 250 insurgents thought to have links to al-Qaeda.

Jalalabad is one of Nato's largest bases in Afghanistan, after Kandahar in the south and Bagram near Kabul.

Both of those have been attacked by insurgents in recent months.