U.N. pulls out foreign staff from Afghanistan

The NATO-led force said it had fired a rocket from the ground at a group it believed to be planting a roadside bomb in Babaji, in Helmand province. It said it was not aware of any civilians in the area and was investigating the incident.

Western nations have pressured Karzai to revamp his cabinet, removing cronies and distancing himself from warlords to gain some credibility.

"We can't afford any longer, a situation where warlords and power-brokers play their own games. We have to have a political landscape that draws the country in the same direction which is the direction of significant reform," Eide said.

"I believe we are now at a critical juncture in the relationship between Afghanistan and the international community. The debate over the last few weeks has demonstrated that there are more question marks and more doubt with regard to the strength of the international commitment to Afghanistan."

(Writing by Peter Graff and Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Alex Richardson)