"We are going to send 50 troops to Mazar-i-Sharif", who are due to arrive at the beginning of July in the major city in the north of the country, a defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

"They have not goy anything to do with ISAF," the International Stabilisation Force in Afghanistan to which Britain has contributed 300 soldiers, the spokesman added. "It's not a reinforcement."

"This is merely a security protection force for a provincial reconstruction team. They will have to ensure the protection" of the team, which is mostly made up of civilian officials.

A number of other countries including Italy and Denmark had sent troops as part of the same operation. Eight such teams in total would be sent to Afghanistan, the spokesman said.

Afghanistan's transitional government has struggled to impose its authority outside the capital Kabul since the US-led war ended in late 2001.

In May, Britain's Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon said the so-called provincial reconstruction team would focus on improving dialogue between local warlords and politicians.

It would remain in Afghanistan for up to two years, he added.

"The role of these teams is to aid the extension of the Afghan transitional authority's capacity, the development of a stable and secure environment in the Afghan regions and to stimulate security sector reform and reconstruction," Hoon said.

ISAF was deployed in December 2001 under a United Nations mandate to help make the Afghan capital secure, after the fall of the former Taliban regime following a US-led campaign in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on America.

The force numbers some 4,700 military personnel, but its mandate does not stretch beyond Kabul.

WAR.WIRE