The Associated Press

Fri, Jan 9, 2009 (9:57 p.m.)

U.S. Vice President-elect Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday for talks with the country's leaders, as surging Taliban violence claimed the lives of more American troops.

Biden and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham will meet with President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Gen. David McKiernan, head of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, said Col. Greg Julian, a U.S. military spokesman.

"It is just a quick visit to Kabul to meet with the leadership and make the initial introduction as part of a roundtrip to the region," Julian said.

The U.S. is rushing 20,000 American troops into Afghanistan to combat a Taliban insurgency that has sent violence to record levels. In 2008, 151 American troops died in the country, more than in any other year since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban.

Biden's visit follows his trip to neighboring Pakistan, where aides said he met with President Asif Ali Zadari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Biden and Graham also discussed counterterrorism, counterinsurgency and the economy with Pakistan's interior adviser Rehman Malik and army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are embroiled in a vicious Taliban-led insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives. Biden's visit is a clear signal that President-elect Barack Obama's new administration plans to make the region an immediate priority.

Biden's tour comes after five U.S. soldiers were killed in two separate attacks in southern Afghanistan, and as U.S. officials warned the violence will likely intensify this year.

Three U.S. soldiers were killed in an explosion Friday in southern Afghanistan, Julian said. Another two soldiers were killed in a suicide attack Thursday in a marketplace in Kandahar province's Maywand district.

The U.S. senator from Delaware will take office as vice president on Jan. 20.