BRUSSELS, April 2: Nato agreed on Friday on a raft of measures to strengthen its fight against terrorism in the wake of last month's Madrid atrocity, including deeper sharing of intelligence on extremists.

In a statement, Nato foreign ministers including US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the alliance "provides an essential transatlantic dimension to the response against terrorism".

They agreed to improve the sharing of intelligence, to give enhanced support if a Nato member suffers a terror attack, and to reinforce security for this summer's Athens Olympics and European football championships in Portugal.

Among other measures agreed by the foreign ministers were:

- coordination of Nato assets to deal with nuclear, chemical and biological attacks

- further developing Mediterranean sea patrols under the banner of "Operation Active Endeavour"

- supporting member states' ability to prevent hijackings of civilian aircraft

- deepening cooperation with the European Union.-AFP