‘Nato might help with Afghan election security’

BRUSSELS: Nato forces could help ensure security for Afghanistan´s upcoming elections, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday, three years after they ended their combat operations in the country.

Days after a suicide bomber killed 57 people at a Kabul voter registration centre, highlighting the security challenges around October´s parliamentary polls, Stoltenberg said Nato forces could play a "limited" security role.

The US-led alliance handed over responsibility for security in Afghanistan to local forces at the end of 2014 but has a 13,000-strong training and support mission in the country. "Our main contribution to make sure that the elections can be held in a safe and secure way is to continue to provide support to the Afghan security forces with training, with advice and also with funding," Stoltenberg told reporters on the eve of a meeting of Nato foreign ministers.