The commander of international forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus paid a Christmas visit to troops in the war-torn area on Saturday, an ISAF statement said.
General Petraeus visited Farah province in western Afghanistan where he met with Italians troops in the volatile Bakwa district, a statement by ISAF said.
"Soldiers here are doing wonderful work in tough places," Petraeus said.
The visit comes a week after US President Barack Obama said that as a result of the surge strategy a "responsible reduction" of US forces could begin in July 2011.
Last year Obama ordered the deployment of 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan as a part of a new strategy to defeat the Taliban.
The US and its allies have deployed around 140,000 troops, many of them American, in Afghanistan since 2001.
A limited coalition withdrawal from Afghanistan is expected to start in 2011 as part of efforts to hand full security responsibilty to Afghan security forces by 2014.
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