London - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that more troops will "definitely" be needed in Afghanistan to train Afghan soldiers and the police but the level of reinforcements was still under consideration.

Speaking in London after talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the NATO chief said he and Brown agreed that the "way forward" in Afghanistan was a "gradual handover of security responsibility" to Afghan forces in a process that could start as early as next year.

A British government spokesman said earlier this week that it hoped to hand over two districts in Helmand province in the south by the middle of 2010.

Rasmussen said he shared the assessment of General Stanley McChrystal, the top US commander in Afghanistan, of the need of a "broad counter-insurgency strategy" in Afghanistan, according to the Press Association.

However, he had not made a "final decision on exact troop numbers."

"But for sure we need to strengthen training and education of Afghan soldiers and Afghan police so we will definitely need more trainers, more education facilities, equipment and money to sustain an increased number of Afghan security forces," said the NATO chief.

He had "encouraged all allies to step up to the plate and provide more resources."

The British government has linked its pledge to send a further 500 troops to Afghanistan to similar commitments by its NATO allies and proof that Afghan President Hamid Karzai had "cleaned up" his government. (dpa)