Fahim is to spend two days in the Tajik capital Dushanbe from Thursday, during which he will meet President Emomali Rakhmonov and the defence, foreign and interior ministers, Afghan Ambassador Mukhamaddovud Pandsheri told AFP.

Some 19 months since the fall of the Taliban regime, central authorities in Kabul maintain only precarious control over the country, with remnants of Islamic militias continuing to launch regular attacks on Western and pro-government forces there.

The United States and its allies currently have around 11,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan.

Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said in May that Russia could help NATO in Afghanistan by providing intelligence and back-up services and search and rescue operations in the north, close to the Afghan-Tajik border.

Some 11,000 Russian border guards are stationed in Tajikistan, helping to guard the 1,340 kilometre (800 mile) border with Afghanistan. The former Soviet republic is a major transit point for drugs destined for Western Europe.

The NATO alliance is to take command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan on August 11.

WAR.WIRE