Washington, Feb. 24: The US would take into account the viewpoints of Pakistan and Afghanistan before deciding on a new strategy for the region.

The US State Department spokesperson, Robert Wood has said that Washington would certainly want Pakistan and Afghanistan to have their say, before the Obama administration's review of policy towards the region.

"We think it is important that Pakistan and Afghanistan, their governments, feed into that review," The Daily Times quoted Wood, as saying.

He said it was necessary to have a wide variety of views because the issue is very intricate, and cannot be worked out without involving all the sides.

Wellington - The New Zealand Army will maintain its 140-strong provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan until at least September 2010, Prime Minister John Key announced on Tuesday.

Wellington (dpa) - The New Zealand Army will maintain its 140-strong provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan until at least September 2010, Prime Minister John Key announced on Tuesday.

Key, whose centre-right government came to power in November, said he would extend the commitment of the previous Labour administration because the situation in Afghanistan required an ongoing international programme of security and development assistance.

Brussels  - Finland is to double the number of its troops in the NATO-led force in Afghanistan to some 200 in time for elections on August 20, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said Monday as European Union colleagues discussed a police-training mission there.

"We will double our presence from about 100 to 200 for the elections, and in that sense I hope that we have responded to the requests (for more troops) that have come from the United States," Stubb told journalists in Brussels.

At the regular meeting, EU foreign ministers were set to discuss the 27-member bloc's role in stabilizing Afghanistan at a time when the new US government has called on European members of NATO to boost their commitments in the country.

Kabul - A suicide bombing in western Afghanistan killed one police officer and wounded five people while at least seven militants were killed in coalition airstrike in the same region, officials said Monday.

A bomber who had strapped explosives around his body tried to enter a police station Monday in Zaranj, the capital of Nimruz province, but was stopped by guards, Governor Gulam Dastagir Azad said.

The bomber scuffled with guards before detonating his explosives, resulting in death of one police officer, Azad said.