Joseph Dunford: Number of Afghan police and army dying in battle is 'unsustainable' Nato commander General Joseph Dunford said death rates were 'serious' He said forces could need up to five more years of support from the West Nato combat troops are due to leave the country in 2014 By Amanda Williams and Gerri Peev General Joseph Dunford, the top U.S. and NATO commander in the country, said the number of Afghan security forces dying was 'unsustainable' Western troops may have to remain in Afghanistan for another five years because local troops are losing too many men in battle, a Nato commander claims. Deaths have regularly topped 100 a week and monthly tolls are no longer published by Afghan ministers for fear of damaging morale, said US General Joseph Dunford. He now fears it may have been "premature" for Nato to end combat operations this spring and said it may have to offer a supporting role after 2014 - when Western troops were scheduled to pull out. "I view it as serious, and so do all the commanders," he said. I'm not assuming that those casualties are sustainable. Some 1,792 police officers have been killed since March - twice as many as the same period last year, according to the Afghan interior ministry. Gen Dunford said the 350,000 local security forces struggled with both intelligence-gathering and logistics and needed "three to five years" before they no longer needed help from foreign troops. By the end of 2014, Afghans are expected to take full responsibility for their security, and all combat Nato troops will leave. In August President Obama promised this would signal 'the end of our war in Afghanistan.' He said 'close air support' may still be needed to assist Afghan security forces, which are only just beginning to develop their own aviation capacity. Dunford insisted that troops had been successful in 'defying the Taliban' and 'preventing them from achieving their goals' to crush the government's will. He said a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) now needs to be signed within months. It will reassure both Afghans and their neighbours of U.S. commitment to the country, he said. It comes after former NATO supreme commander Admiral James Stavridis last month said the United States and its allies should confirm how many troops will stay on in Afghanistan after 2014. He said it should be clarified in order to combat Taliban propaganda that foreign troops are 'abandoning the country'. The number of Afghan police and army dying in battle is 'unsustainable', a top U.S. commander has warned (stock picture) General Joseph Dunford, the top US and Nato commander in the country, said that casualty rates were 'serious' in an interview Stavridis said in a commentary in Foreign Policy: 'Instead of waiting for months, we should move now to decide and publicly reveal the commitment.' Currently there are approximately 100,000 troops in Afghanistan in the NATO-led coalition. American forces account for around two-thirds of the number. The White House has in the past suggested a small force of between 8,000 to 12,000 troops will remain in the country after 2014 in a support role. But after a 'difficult' negotiation period with Kabul, officials have since spoken of removing all troops.