Nato took command of the 5,000-strong international peacekeeping force in the Afghan capital Kabul today, its first ground mission outside Europe since it was created 54 years ago.

Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) took command from the Germans and the Dutch, who jointly led the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in the city since February.

The outgoing commander, German Lieutenant General Norbert van Heyst, handed over control during a formal ceremony at the capital's Amani High School. The new commander, Nato Lieutenant General Gotz Gliemeroth, who is also from Germany, accepted a green flag from Lt Gen van Heyst to mark the change.

"ISAF's name and mission will not change," said Nato deputy secretary general Alessandro Minuto Rizzo, who was at the ceremony. "But what will change as of today is the level of commitment and capability Nato provides."

The school building where the meeting ceremony took place was ringed by scores of armed peacekeepers and Isaf armoured cars mounted with machine guns. Bomb-sniffing dogs were on hand to search for any explosives.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai was present, along with German defence minister Peter Struck and Nato's supreme allied commander General James L Jones.

Mr Struck said in a speech that the hand-over was a sign of the international community's commitment to rebuilding the war-shattered country.

He said: "Afghanistan must not lapse back into anarchy and chaos and must not again become the home of global terror, as was the case under the rule of the Taliban. What the people of Afghanistan wish for is a stable peace. They are pinning great hopes on the international community. The support of Nato for Isaf ... is a visible expression of the fact that the people of Afghanistan will not be let down."

Nato is taking over command in large part to end the arduous task of searching for a new "lead nation" every six months to run Isaf. NATO spokesman Mark Laity told reporters in Kabul yesterday that a long-term Nato command would give more continuity to the mission.

Isaf will continue operating exactly as before, with the "same mission, same mandate, same banner", he said. The 30-nation force was created in December 2001 to bolster security in Kabul in the wake of the US-led war that toppled the Taliban, which had granted haven to Osama bin Laden and members of his al-Qaida terrorist network.

About 90% of Isaf's troops are from Nato countries, though 15 of the 30 contributing countries are - and will still be - from non-Nato nations.

The Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement today that it is "confident that Isaf's mission effectiveness will be enhanced by Nato's new role at the helm of the peacekeeping force in Kabul".

The deployment in Asia will be Nato's first outside Europe since the organisation was formed during the Cold War as a bulwark against possible attacks by the former Soviet Union.

Nato will face the same problems other lead nations have in the past: ensuring stability in Kabul and preventing possible terrorist strikes.

Isaf suffered its worst-ever hostile casualties in June, when a suicide bomber killed four German peacekeepers and wounded 29 others.

Despite such threats, the capital is considered a safe haven compared to rest of the country, which is ruled by rival warlords whose armed factions frequently turn their guns on each other.

A vast area along the southern and eastern border with Pakistan, meanwhile, is home to a low-level guerrilla insurgency being waged by Taliban rebels and their allies.

Mr Karzai's government, along with UN special envoy to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi and human rights groups, have repeatedly called for Isaf's mandate to be expanded outside the capital, particularly with general elections due in June 2004.

So far, however, no nation has been willing to support an expanded mission, which would require at least 10,000 additional troops.