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The general's assessment came the same day a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing himself and three other people, Xinhua reported. Thirteen others were wounded, a police officer at the scene told the Chinese news agency.

McChrystal's description last year of a "deteriorating" situation in Afghanistan convinced President Barack Obama to increase the size of the U.S. force there. The general, attending a NATO conference in Istanbul, Turkey, gave a brighter assessment to reporters, The Washington Post reported.

"I am not prepared to say that we have turned the corner", McChrystal said. "I'm not prepared to say we are winning. I am prepared to say we are very much engaged and I'm confident we're going to see serious progress this year."

McChrystal said his rosier outlook is based on optimism shown by the Afghan people and their leaders. Other U.S. leaders have been more pessimistic.

The general described a trip to Nawa in Helmand province with President Hamid Karzai.

"President Karzai, with no body armor or anything, walked through the bazaar, talked to people, had tea", McChrystal said. "He told me he had not been in a bazaar like that -- he was there about 40 minutes -- that long since he's been in power, or at least for several years."

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