As more and more US-led troops die in Afghanistan everyday, the US president says the ongoing offensives against the Taliban were essential for "stability" of the country.

"The most important thing we can do is to combine our military efforts with effective diplomacy and development so that Afghans feel a greater stake and have a greater capacity to secure their country," the US President Barack Obama said in an interview with Britain's Sky News television.

Calling the increasingly deadly conflict in Afghanistan as a "serious fight", Obama claimed that allied forces had "pushed back" the militants in ongoing offensives ahead of a crucial vote.

Afghanistan is due to hold presidential elections in August amid a state of uncertainty and insecurity.

However, Obama conceded that the troops in Afghanistan would face "tough fighting" in the upcoming months and would "still have a long way to go."

The remarks come as Taliban-linked militants have killed dozens of US and British troops in Helmand where thousands of troops are conducting the largest Marine operation in Afghanistan since 2001.

More than 100 US troops have died this year in the conflict-torn country. This is while 184 British troops have been killed since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

JR/SME/MMN