The US today hailed India's developmental assistance of 1.3 billion US dollars to Afghanistan, saying it is critical for the success of fight against terror. US Deputy Secretary for Defence William J Lynn told reporters in New Delhi that he discussed the situation in Afghanistan with Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar and other officials and both the sides underlined that Afghan operations are more than military intervention and also involves development assistance. Mr Lynn, who is in India to co-chair the two-day US-India Defence Planning Group meeting, said the review focused on the US' continuing and enduring commitment to Afghanistan and the entire region to dismantle the al Qaeda, and synchronising the military, political and economic legs of the operations. He said the review also focused on what was going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan and to wipe out terrorism in both the countries and across their borders. Asked if the recent Indo-US military exercises were a prelude to any joint anti-terror and counter-insurgency operations, the US official said the navies of the two countries were already coordinating in the Horn of Africa to counter piracy. Referring to the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US later this month, the US Deputy Secretary for Defence said the growing defence relations between the two countries will come up for review during the visit.