UK military to offer more help

The strikes on Afghanistan have been hailed as "effective"

Downing Street says the government is in talks with the United States about making further military contributions towards the campaign in Afghanistan.

The prime minister's official spokesman said Britain's role in the attacks was likely to extend beyond its limited involvement so far.

We will be completely straight with the British people about the action that we are taking as this unfolds

Prime Minister's spokesman

The announcement comes a day after US special forces staged their first ground raids against the Taleban, which were described as "successful".

The spokesman said Britain's contribution was unlikely to be limited to air reconnaissance, refuelling and the two submarines that launched cruise missiles in the first phase of the war.

It remains the government's policy not to comment on the activity of special forces such as the SAS.

But the spokesman said it was well known that Britain had a "world renowned expertise" in this area.

He said the operations seen over the weekend - in other words the use of US special forces on the ground - showed the progress of the campaign.

Asked how Mr Blair would prepare Britons for the prospect of casualties should UK ground troops be deployed, the spokesman said: "The prime minister will continue to spell out to the British public why we have to act.

"We will be completely straight with the British people about the action that we are taking as this unfolds."

'Vision for Afghanistan'

As the prime minister preprares to hold another war cabinet at Downing Street on Monday, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will set out a vision for the future of Afghanistan in a major speech,

Mr Straw is expected to say the UN should take the lead role in helping build a safer and better society for Afghan people.

Critics say the bombing is disrupting aid delivery for refugees

He will say the future of Afghanistan should be in the hands of the Afghan people, supported by the global coalition and a long term commitment from Britain.

But the foreign secretary is expected to avoid the issue of how long the military action against the country could go on for.

Afghanistan has now seen a 15th night of US air strikes, with aircraft bombing Taleban front-line positions north of the Afghan capital Kabul.

Bioterror vaccines

On Sunday Health Secretary Alan Milburn said Britain and America were already talking about sharing their knowledge and resources on vaccines against possible bio-terror threats.

He said: "We're looking at what we can do on the joint purchase of vaccines and antibiotics.

"There are things that we can do together here, not least because we can pool intelligence, and we can pool some of the real expertise that we've got, both in this country and elsewhere."