Afghan President Welcomes Obama Taliban Talks Offer

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the openness of his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama to reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban insurgency.

In an interview published in "The New York Times" newspaper Sunday, Mr. Obama says reconciliation could emerge as an important initiative as the U.S. reviews its strategy in Afghanistan.

Mr. Karzai said Sunday that his government has long supported dialogue with moderate Taliban members.

Mr. Obama said Afghanistan is a less governed region with a history of fierce independence among tribes -- making outreach much more of a challenge.

The U.S. president recently approved the deployment of an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to battle the country's growing insurgency.

In other news, NATO says a roadside bomb killed one of its soldiers and wounded at least two more in eastern Afghanistan Sunday.

Also, officials say another roadside bomb in Ghazni province killed at least three Afghan police and wounded three others.

In another incident, the U.S. military says a joint U.S. and Afghan patrol killed two policemen who opened fire on them in northeastern Afghanistan on Friday.