-->The US is to urge Nato to take overall responsibility for peacekeeping and reconstruction in Afghanistan.
Nato defence ministers meeting in Romania on Wednesday will hear US officials suggest that separate US and Nato missions merge under Nato command.

The alliance currently commands 9,000 Kabul-based international troops, while there are 18,000 US troops hunting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Nato members will also be asked to help equip the new Iraqi security forces.

The US ambassador to Nato, Nicholas Burns, confirmed the plans for Afghanistan ahead of informal talks on Wednesday in the Romanian ski resort of Poiana Brasov.