Kabul - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Wednesday that he hoped Barack Obama's victory in the US presidential election would bring peace for war-weary Afghans and urged the president-elect to reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan after being sworn in.

At a press conference held in his fortified presidential palace, Karzai congratulated Obama, who defeated his Republican rival and fellow senator, John McCain.

"Today the people of United States of America by the election that they conducted and by electing Senator Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States have taken themselves, the American people and the rest of the world with them into a new era," Karzai told reporters.

"I hope this election and president Obama's coming to office will bring peace to Afghanistan, life to Afghanistan, and prosperity to the Afghan people and to the rest of the world," the president said.

He said his fundamental demand from the new president was to eliminate civilian casualties caused in anti-Taliban operations in the country, adding, "The fight against terrorism can't be won in the Afghan village. The war should focus on terrorist safe havens and the places where they are trained and equipped."

Karzai did not say where the terrorist havens were, but Afghan officials have repeatedly said in the past that the international fight on terrorism should target areas inside Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan, where they alleged the militants were widely entrenched.

Obama, who is to be sworn in in January as the 44th US president and its first African-American leader, had several times during his election campaign said that if elected he would increase US troops in Afghanistan and threatened to attack terrorist targets in Pakistani tribal areas to eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda sanctuaries.

The United States has around 35,000 soldiers in Afghanistan while the same number has been deployed by 39 other countries to Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

In reaction to Obama's election, Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahamdi warned the president-elect not to follow President George W Bush's policies in Afghanistan.

"Sending more troops would only give them loss of lives," he said by phone from an undisclosed location, urging the new US administration to withdraw the US and allied forces from Afghanistan.

Obama has also been critical of Karzai's administration, which he said was not responsive enough to deliver services to its people. Afghan analysts said they believe Obama might bring changes as well to Afghanistan's government. The next election is scheduled for fall 2009.

"If there is any change, it will be a positive change," said Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi, Afghan finance minister.

Ahadi admitted there were corruption and shortcomings in the current Afghan government but said he hoped that under Obama's administration, relations between the two allies on the fight against terrorism would be further strengthened.

While insisting he would continue to work closely with the next US president, Karzai also said in Wednesday's news conference that electing the Afghan president in the country's next election was a decision for the Afghan people. (dpa)