BERLIN - Defense Minister Peter Struck called Wednesday for a bigger German commitment to Afghanistan, but more focused on civilian aid than beefing up its military presence, AFP said.

Struck is due to travel Sunday to Kabul where command of the multinational security assistance force (ISAF), which Germany and the Netherlands have been sharing since February, will be handed over to NATO.

Germany "must mount a stronger presence in the country," he told public ARD television. "But the priority is on civilian, rather than military, build-up."

ISAF, a 4,600-strong body drawn from 29 nations, has a limited mandate that does not stretch beyond the Afghan capital.

German troops currently makes up half the force, but that number will fall to 1,500 by the end of next month, the defense ministry has said.

However, Berlin has said it may extend the mandate of the remaining troops until at least the end of 2004, with the possibility of deploying outside the capital to help civilian reconstruction teams.

Struck said in an interview earlier this month that he favored the idea of helping civilian reconstruction efforts, saying a final decision on any German participation would be taken in September.

Afghanistan's fragile government has struggled to impose authority outside Kabul since the U.S.-led war to topple the Taliban regime ended in late 2001.

Attacks on peacekeepers have increased, including a bombing on June 7 which killed four German ISAF troops.