Germany is poised to deploy troops to the northern Afghan town of Kunduz, expanding their mandate beyond the capital Kabul for the first time, Defense Minister Peter Struck indicated on Tuesday.

The experience of US forces there "give us no cause to say no", Struck said, reiterating that no official decision had been made yet and any deployment would also need approval from the German parliament.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has already indicated that he thinks it would be "politically fair" to extend the mandate of German troops, which currently covers only Kabul and its surrounding area. The soldiers in Kunduz would operate in a support and security capacity for so-called provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs).

PRTs are US-led civilian teams charged with rebuilding infrastructure such as roads, schools, and hospitals, and training the police and army.

The aim is to boost security and reconstruction in the provinces to extend and strengthen the authority of the fragile government in Kabul.

The US army already supports PRTs in Kunduz, Bamiyan in central Afghanistan and Gardez in the east.AFP