Taliban gains upper hand in Afghanistan: U.S. commander

WASHINGTON, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan acknowledged that the Taliban has gained the upper hand in that country, which forced the Obama administration to adjust its strategy.

The new strategy, including sending more troops to heavily populated areas, could mean more U.S. casualties, Gen. Stanley McChrystal said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Monday.

U.S. casualty numbers in Afghanistan, already running at record levels, will remain high for months to come, he added.

The commander said a key shift in the strategy is to put a premium on safeguarding the Afghan population rather than hunting down militants.

Describing the Taliban as "a very aggressive enemy," McChrystal said that the Taliban militants are operating beyond their traditional strongholds while mounting sophisticated attacks, which caused significant U.S. fatalities.

In an effort to regain the upper hand from Taliban, the commander said he will redeploy troops to areas with larger concentrations of Afghan civilians, while some of the 4,000 American troops still to arrive will be deployed to Kandahar.

The Obama administration is in the process of an Afghan buildup that will push U.S. troop levels there to a record 68,000 by year end.

The U.S. war effort in Afghanistan is costing about 4 billion U.S. dollars a month.

McChrystal made the comments as he is preparing a strategic assessment of the Afghan war and will deliver it to the Pentagon and the White House later this month.