(Adds comment from Gates, detail) KABUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived on Monday in Afghanistan, where NATO forces have been battling a resurgent Taliban in the south of the country over the past year. Gates, making his first visit to the country since taking office last month, plans to meet Afghan government officials as well as U.S. and NATO military commanders. More than 4,000 people were killed in violence in Afghanistan last year. It was the bloodiest year since 2001 when U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban government, which they accused of harbouring Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. Fighting in Afghanistan often subsides in winter months only to resume when the snows melt. U.S. officials say they have information suggesting the Taliban are planning a campaign to build on their resurgence in 2006. Earlier on Monday, Gates discussed the increase in violence with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels. "The mission in Afghanistan, the first outside NATO's traditional European borders, is a model of the organisation's potential in this new era. Success in Afghanistan is our top priority," Gates told a new conference in Brussels. Gates said there were "some indications that the Taliban want to increase the level of violence in 2007 and one of the subjects we've been discussing is how we will respond to that and perhaps try to act to avoid it." He also highlighted the importance of reconstruction in Afghanistan and support for the government of President Hamid Karzai. "There is clearly a need for both a military response in Afghanistan but also a civilian response. Clearly, the reconstruction, economic development, strengthening the Karzai government and its ability to render services to its citizenry are all very important." "There has to be both a strong civilian and a strong military component to our support for that government," he said. Gates will ask military commanders in his meetings on Tuesday whether they have adequate troops and other resources to counter any offensive, a U.S. defence official said at the weekend. The United States has about 20,000 troops in Afghanistan, Britain has some 5,000.
