Australian special forces soldiers have killed a senior Taleban commander as British forces consider an Iraq-style "surge" in Afghanistan.
Defence officials said Australian troops spotted Mullah Akhtar Mohammed - responsible for co-ordinating attacks on government facilities in Oruzgan province - and his armed protection party in a remotearea last week.
The special operations task group patrol kept watch and, after confirming the absence of non-combatants, called in an airstrike.
The death comes as Britain's special forces look to play a key role in a newly planned "surge".
The Independent has learned that British troops are to be used to dramatically expand the Army's "decapitation" strategy working alongside United States Marines against the Taleban leadership.
The operation will coincide with an increase in overall troop numbers in Afghanistan. US forces are expected to expand by a third and British troop numbers will also increase as more forces are pulled out of Iraq.
The urgent need for a fresh strategy, being worked out in meetings between US, British and other Nato commanders, is an acknowledgement that, seven years after the fall of the Taleban, the conflict is now particularly dangerous with a rise in roadside and suicide bombings.
Yesterday a wave of Taleban suicide bombers backed by gunmen attempted to breach the defences of the main US base for southeastern Afghanistan.
Thirty Taleban fighters attacked Camp Salerno, close to the town of Khost. Six suicide bombers exploded their vests after being surrounded outside the base. Two children were also killed. A suicide bomber killed 10 civilians and wounded 13 more outside the base on Monday.
AFGHAN BUILDUP * The United States military, with 34,000 troops in Afghanistan, is expected to send two more combat brigades, about 12,000 troops, early next year.
* Britain has about 8000 troops in the country. It has 4200 troops in Iraq and this is likely to be cut to about 2000 by the end of the year and some, including special forces, may be sent to Afghanistan.
* The Pentagon has also drawn up plans to double the size of the Afghan Army to 120,000 and arm its soldiers at a cost of US$20 billion over five years.
