WASHINGTON - Despite a series of militant attacks in Kabul, the Pentagon has ruled out any change in its Afghan strategy, saying such assaults are targeted to have more of a psychological impact as the Taliban are actually on the run. "The focus remains on transition to Afghan security lead in other areas of the country and they (the Taliban) are feeling the heat," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters during an off-camera session on Tuesday.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has stepped up the pressure on rebels across Afghanistan, he said, adding the fighting season reflects different kinds of tactics the enemy is pulling.

Little said the US knew how to address these kinds of assaults, even if it was hard to anticipate them. These attacks, he said, "reflect, in our view, their concern about pressure that's being brought to bear on them in other parts of the country."

The Taliban believe that launching onslaughts in Kabul can have an even greater psychological effect on the Afghan government and Afghan civilians, said Pentagon spokesperson Navy Captain John Kirby.

"But the bottom line is it's not going to change the way the strategy is being executed," he said, concluding: "To give these attacks, as lethal as they have been and as pointed as they have been, more weight than they deserve wouldn't be warranted."