NATO ambassadors agreed to ask military experts "to look into how to maximize the role of NATO in Afghanistan," said a NATO official after a meeting of the decision-making North Atlantic Council (NAC).

Asked whether ISAF could come under a NATO flag, he replied: "We will see what planners come up with. It's up to (NATO) nations to decide what is best to do."

Germany and The Netherlands took over joint control of ISAF from Turkey in February and will lead it for six months, but Berlin has been urging NATO to take over the leadership role at the end of the current mandate in August.

NATO's top military commander in Europe, General James L. Jones, said last month that the alliance was ready to play a role in leading role, if called upon.

"I am quite sure that NATO assets could be used, and could be used effectively," he said after talks with German Defence Minister Peter Struck.

The 4,800-strong force has patrolled Kabul and its environs since its creation under an Afghan power-sharing agreement reached in the German city of Bonn in 2001 following the fall of the Taliban militia.

ISAF comprises some 5,000 troops from 30 countries, including around 2,500 German military and 600 Dutch soldiers, and provides assistance to Afghan authorities in securing Kabul.

WAR.WIRE