"The only way to put an end to such painful experiences is through an accelerated and full transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces," his office said in a statement.

NATO has some 130,000 US-led troops helping Karzai's government fight a Taleban insurgency, but they are progressively handing over to Afghan forces ahead of a scheduled pull out by the end of 2014.

Updated plans for the withdrawal will be discussed at a NATO summit in Chicago next month, with polls showing Karzai's call for an early exit is shared by citizens of troop-contributing nations.

In moves unlikely to go down well with his allies, Karzai has already accused NATO this week of failures that allowed the Taleban to launch major attacks in Kabul and has demanded the US "write down" that it will commit at least $2 billion a year to Afghanistan's security after 2014.

On Thursday he condemned the pictures of US troops as "inhumane and provocative,” noting similar incidents in the past had sparked an angry reaction by Afghans.

Pictures published by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday showed US soldiers posing with the remains of Taleban insurgents, one of them with a man's hand draped over his shoulder.

"It is such a disgusting act to take photos with body parts and then share it with others," Karzai said.

Every month this year a fresh scandal has rocked the alliance between the US and the Karzai government in their joint efforts against Taleban insurgents.

In January, a video showed US Marines urinating on Taleban corpses; in February US soldiers burned copies of the Qur’an; and in March one US soldier went on the rampage and murdered 17 villagers in their homes.

The Taleban were also quick to condemn the photographs of US soldiers posing with the body parts of militants, calling the two-year-old pictures "inhuman" and vowing revenge.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said those responsible would be punished but voiced "regret" that the LA Times had decided to publish the images against his wishes, warning they could prompt a violent backlash.

For the Afghans, "it does confirm how people increasingly feel about the international and US troops — that they don't really care about us (and) they don't treat us with respect." "The US soldiers who posed for pictures with the Afghan insurgents show that they didn't come to Afghanistan to deliver services for us," said Obaidullah, 20, an unemployed high-school graduate in Kabul.

"Instead such actions will force Afghans to rise against them." But an immediate violent response by ordinary Afghans was seen as unlikely.

"We have had too many of these incidents recently where there's been questions about US troops' morality and ethics... but it doesn't necessarily mean we will see riots on the streets," said Candace Rondeaux of the International Crisis Group.

Meanwhile, the US ambassador to Afghanistan said on Thursday there was "no question" that the Haqqani network, one of the most feared insurgent groups in the country, mounted coordinated attacks on Kabul and other areas over the weekend.

Ryan Crocker also called on Islamabad to crack down on what he called Haqqani safe havens in Pakistan, reiterating a long-standing demand that has strained ties between the strategic allies.

"There is no question in our mind that the Haqqanis were responsible for these attacks," he told reporters.

"We know where their leadership lives and we know where these plans are made. They're not made in Afghanistan. They're made in Miram Shah which is in North Waziristan, which is in Pakistan." The Afghan Taleban claimed responsibility for the attacks on foreign embassies and parliament, which lasted 18 hours, killing 11 Afghan security forces and four civilians. Thirty-five insurgents died.

Though the death toll was relatively low considering the scale of the assault, it highlighted the ability of militants to strike high-profile targets in the heart of the capital even after more than 10 years of war.

The United States has repeatedly urged Pakistan's military to launch a major offensive in North Waziristan to go after the Haqqanis. Pakistan says it is already stretched fighting homegrown Taleban militants elsewhere near the Afghan border.

Pakistan, recipient of billions of dollars in US aid, sees the Haqqanis as a counterweight to the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan, analysts say.

Pakistan denies that claim.

"Thousands of Pakistanis have died in terrorist actions inside Pakistan from individuals and groups that are in these so-called safe haven areas," said Crocker.

"So they really need to take action and that is going to be a major part of our dialogue going forward. That's what we are pressing them to do." The US assertion that the Haqqanis were behind the recent attacks on Kabul and elsewhere, and renewed pressure for Pakistani action against the group, could deepen strains in the strategic alliance between Washington and Islamabad.