Between 3-5 billion dollars have been wasted in the US-effort to rebuild Iraq since 2003, the US official assigned to oversee reconstruction efforts in that country said on Wednesday.

Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, warned lawmakers on Capitol Hill that mistakes made in trying to rebuild Iraq were being repeated in Afghanistan.

"Unless the expanding Afghanistan program draws upon the lessons learned in Iraq, substantial waste of taxpayer dollars will occur," Bowen told the House armed services committee.