WASHINGTON, May 6: The Nato allies have accepted responsibility for the next deployment of the International Security Force for Afghanistan and are also considering a potential role in Iraq, the State Department said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Secretary of State Colin Powell told reporters in Washington the Nato deployment in Afghanistan “shows that the alliance recognizes that it has new kinds of responsibilities and is responding to new challenges and to new threats.”

A State Department official said on Tuesday that Nato was also considering a potential mission in Iraq to help maintain law and order in the war-torn country.