United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made an unannounced visit Friday to Afghanistan, where he met with President Hamid Karzai and the commander of NATO troops.
U.N. officials say Mr. Ban's visit, his first to Afghanistan as U.N chief, was designed to ensure coordination between the United Nations and the Afghan government.
Along with President Karzai, Mr. Ban met the head of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, General Dan McNeill, and other officials.
The visit comes ahead of a conference in Rome next week, which will focus on ways to improve Afghanistan's justice system and tackle corruption.
In other developments Friday, the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says troops killed at least three suspected militants and arrested 16 during a raid in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
But local officials say the soldiers killed four civilians after blowing up the gate of an Afghan family's home.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
