The request came ahead of a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in Istanbul next week, at which the US is expected to press for the Alliance to play a greater role, days before power is transferred in Iraq.

"Mr Allawi has ... sent a letter to the alliance asking for NATO assistance, in the form of training and other forms of technical assistance," the NATO official told AFP.

The letter was received Monday and has been transmitted to NATO member states for consideration by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, added the official, requesting anonymity.

The request comes days ahead of the NATO summit next Monday and Tuesday where Iraq is expected dominate discussion, as NATO tries to juggle its commitments notably in Afghanistan and the Balkans.

US President George W. Bush recently suggested that the US-led alliance could help train Iraqi security personnel and the new army, an area in which it has considerable expertise.

At this month's G8 summit, French President Jacques Chirac appeared to leave open that possibility, while affirming that intervention in Iraq was not NATO's job.

Asked what sort of training NATO could provide, the NATO official said: "I would guess it would go in the direction of armed forces," adding: "NATO is not really in the police business."

The official declined to predict what the response will be from NATO leaders preparing to gather in Istanbul for the two-day summit next Monday.

"I can't anticipate decisions that will take place at Istanbul," he said. "But certainly allies are considering the request and discussing it and will have of course a very fulsome discussion on this subject at Istanbul."

The now 26-member alliance was plunged into the most serious crisis of its 55-year history in the run-up to last year's Iraq war, when a group of countries led by France and Germany opposed US plans for NATO to help Turkey.

NATO currently provides logistical support to Poland in running its sector of a multi-national force in the war-scarred country.

Washington says it does not expect NATO to send troops to Iraq, noting that 16 Alliance states already have a military presence in Iraq. Countries which opposed the war, including France and Germany, have refused to send soldiers.

But Washington has underlined that training Iraqi forces to ensure stability in the country, notably in the face of ongoing insurgents' attacks, is a key priority to take over from its 138,000 troops currently in the country.

The NATO chief has recently said repeatedly that, if Iraq were to request assistance, "NATO could not slam the door in their face," while stressing that the call would have to come from the new Iraqi authorities themselves.

The Iraqi prime minister last Sunday announced a dramatic overhaul of the country's defence structure, vowing to deploy all security forces, including the army, in the fight against insurgents.

The premier also announced the formation of an elite military unit to battle the insurgents and stem unrest which has killed more than 200 people since his interim government was unveiled on June 1.

"I have directed that the immediate priority is to establish an effective Iraqi command and control system to integrate all these forces while I will have ultimate responsibility for national security," he said.

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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