In a visit to Afghanistan ahead of a White House review of war strategy, Gates met with troops engaged in intense combat in the east and acknowledged the problem of insurgents exploiting sanctuaries over the border with Pakistan.

"I think these guys being close to the border face some special challenges and have taken some serious losses," Gates said after meeting members of the 101st Airborne Division at Forward Operating Base Connolly, near the frontier.

The insurgency's reliance on havens across the mountainous border has proved a persistent frustration for US-led forces in the nine-year-old war, raising questions over Pakistan's role and prospects for weakening the militants.

Troops at the US post in Nangarhar province have been mourning the loss of six of their fellow soldiers who were killed last week by an Afghan policeman who attacked the Americans during a training session.

It was the deadliest assault of its kind by insurgents who have tried to infiltrate Afghan forces, seeking to undermine a key pillar of the US war effort.

In emotional remarks to troops, Gates expressed sympathy for the losses but told the young soldiers they were engaged in a vital struggle.

"I know you all have had a rough go of it," Gates said, but the sacrifices were "worth it".

"What you're doing is incredibly important," he said.

At another outpost in Kunar province, reporters heard a young officer brief Gates about an array of difficulties facing US forces in the restive area, listing factors working in favor of the insurgents -- including poverty, corruption and a local tradition of suspicion towards outsiders.

But asked afterwards by a reporter about how he reconciled the "grim" picture on the ground with more optimistic assessments in Washington, Gates said there was no contradiction and that overall the outlook was promising.

"I didn't take what I heard today to be necessarily more grim than what I've heard elsewhere," he said, adding that in meetings with senior officers Tuesday he "heard a lot of confidence and a feeling that they're making a lot of headway".

The US commander in the region, Major General John Campbell, scolded journalists for suggesting the situation in the east was bleak, saying the media had misread the course of the Iraq war three years ago.

The general said violence was running high in Kunar province but that US forces had inflicted serious losses on insurgents and disrupted supplies of bomb-making material.

"This is a very, very tough area," he told reporters, adding it would take time to push back the insurgents.

A day before Gates visited Forward Operating Base Joyce in Kunar, coalition aircraft dropped nine bombs on militant targets nearby, Campbell said, citing the air raids as an indicator of the heavy fighting.

He said he planned to redeploy more troops to key towns and villages instead of remote eastern outposts that were vulnerable to attack and served little strategic purpose.

At a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Joyce in Kunar, Gates awarded silver stars -- one of the US military's highest decorations -- to six soldiers, reflecting the fierce clashes near the border.

Gates' visit came a year after President Barack Obama ordered 30,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan as part of a new strategy designed to pave the way for the exit of foreign forces.

With the White House reviewing the war effort 12 months later, officials say they expect no dramatic change to the strategy, which seeks to build up Afghan forces while pushing back the Taliban from key areas.

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