US President Barack Obama, in his first major military decision as commander-in-chief, has ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to tackle an intensifying insurgency, the White House said on Tuesday.

But in an interview with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Obama also said military means alone would not solve the problem.

US officials have said Washington and its allies are not winning in Afghanistan, more than seven years after toppling the Taliban for giving sanctuary to Al-Qaida leaders responsible for the Sept 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.