Washington, Sep 15 (DPA) The United States will likely need to send more troops to Afghanistan, the US' top military commander said Tuesday.

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate committee that more US troops are needed to train Afghan forces to maintain security.

'A properly resourced counter-insurgency probably means more forces, and without question, more time and more commitment to the protection of the Afghanistan people and to the development of good governance,' Mullen said in a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing on his appointment to serve a second term as the top US military official.

General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, is expected to request more US troops in the coming weeks, but Mullen said a number has not yet been agreed upon.

The last of a US troop surge requested by President Barack Obama earlier this year will be on the ground by the end of the month, Mullen said. The US has boosted its forces there by 17,000 combat troops and 4,000 trainers to work with the Afghan military, he said.