"We have developed a combined joint statement of requirement saying that this is what we need in order to achieve our goals" to help train Iraq's growing security forces, said Colonel Petter Lindqvist, the chief NATO spokesman in the country.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also aims to establish a command centre for its future contingent, which is expected to grow from 60 to some 300.

"Now we are working out of the Green Zone -- a fortress-like compound in the centre of Baghad that also houses the US and British embassies among other official buildings -- but we are looking at alternatives to base trainers outside," Lindqvist told AFP in an interview on Wednesday.

The Norwegian official, however, conceded that no date has been set for the arrival of some 300 instructors, who will be protected by a yet-to-be determined number of soldiers.

The United States wants deployment to happen before the landmark vote and NATO's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, supports the idea of seeing instructors on the ground in Baghdad this year.

But Lindqvist was unable to give a precise date.

"It will be pure speculation to say if it will happen before or after the elections," he said.

"All agreement in NATO is based on consensus, and this can be time consuming... We are doing whatever we can to help them (the Iraqi security forces) secure Iraq before the elections."

According to the colonel, it is up to the individual members of the Alliance to decide upon their own contribution to the task.

The team already here comprises 60 people from 10 countries, which supported last year's invasion -- namely Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Turkey and the United States.

The NATO contingent will work on three fronts -- developing a military academy on the outskirts of Baghdad, channelling supplies of military equipment donated by Alliance members and advising officers in the new Iraqi army.

"The military academy is not ready yet... but training has started, partly by NATO, working basically with developing the infrastructure and the curriculum," said Lindqvist.

A working group with Iraq's defence ministry and a second group at NATO's headquarters in Brussels have been established to coordinate the various offers of military equipment, which will be used in the training, he explained.

The coaching began on August 18, just four days after the initial NATO team arrived in Baghdad, and officers are hard at work with their Iraqi colleagues, helping to establish procedures.

Despite being under the overall umbrella of the US-led military command in Iraq, Lindqvist insisted that there was a clear distinction between NATO and the multinational forces.

"It is extremely important for us to communicate the distinction. NATO arrived here on the request of the Iraqi government," said the colonel.

At the same time, he conceded that this distinction might be blurred by the presence at the head of the team of US Lieutenent General David Petraeus.

Petraeus also heads a US-led military training programme in Iraq.

The Norwegian colonel justified the choice of leader as being, "a practical arrangement since we are aiming at not duplicating work in our training effort.

"We are very much depending on the coalition in terms of force protection, in terms of all sorts of supply, logistics, accommodation, transportation."

The NATO team also relied on close contact with the US-led troops here as they are better acquainted with the country.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed to launch the Iraq training mission in June, but struggled to agree on the details, notably due to resistance by France and other countries to actually deploying forces in Iraq.

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