President Hamid Karzai visited volatile southern Afghanistan on Saturday to meet with scores of tribal elders, as four Italian troops were killed in an insurgent ambush in the west.

Gen. David Petraeus, top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry accompanied Karzai, who is expected to rally support among residents for international forces and the Afghan government.

More than 200 tribal leaders from around the troubled province of Kandahar assembled to see the president.

Afghan Defense Minister Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak and Turyalai Wesa, governor of Kandahar province, were among the group visiting Kandahar's restive Arghandab district.

Karzai's half brother Ahmad Wali Karzai — a key provincial power-broker — was among the entourage.

Kandahar is the scene of NATO's Operation Dragon Strike, targeting the Taliban in their southern strongholds. The operation aims to rout insurgents from areas they have long controlled.

Karzai and the other officials visited Kandahar's famous Baba Sahib shrine on Saturday.