UPDATE 3-Afghanistan welcomes Obama win, wants new strategy

(Adds Karzai comments, details, paragraphs 10-12)

By Sayed Salahuddin

KABUL, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Afghans welcomed Barack Obama's U.S. election victory, saying on Wednesday they looked forward to a greater focus and new strategy on the war with Taliban insurgents that has killed at least 4,000 people this year alone.

Most Afghans were grateful to President George W. Bush when U.S. troops overthrew the Taliban's austere Islamist rule in 2001, blaming it for sheltering al Qaeda leaders it said were behind the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

But with the war now in its eighth year, Afghans are caught between a deepening and resilient Taliban insurgency on one side and, on the other, much-feared U.S. and NATO military might backing an Afghan government most see as corrupt and ineffective.

"I applaud the American people ... and hope this election and President Obama's coming into office will bring peace to Afghanistan," President Hamid Karzai told a news conference.

During his election campaign, Obama was critical of Karzai over his failure to tackle widespread corruption, the booming trade in illegal opium and over the ineffectiveness of his government -- all factors that fuel the Taliban insurgency.

But Obama pledged a new focus on Afghanistan, which analysts agree the Bush administration neglected by sending troops and vital resources to Iraq, giving the Taliban a chance to regroup and relaunch an insurgency that now threatens the capital.

"I'm glad Obama won. He's young, he's energetic, he's spoken of the need to pay more attention to Afghanistan," said women's activist and radio station chief Jamila Mujahid. "Bush made a mistake by sending troops and resources to Iraq."