Kabul - NATO's new secretary general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday in Kabul that Afghanistan "will be my highest priority", vowing that alliance forces would do their utmost to provide "the best possible security" for the August 20 presidential election.

Rasmussen, who was talking to journalists in joint press conference with President Hamid Karzai in Afghan fortified presidential palace, said: "I assure you, the Afghan people, that we will stay to support you for as long as it takes to finish our job."

On just his third working day in the new job, the NATO chief arrived in Kabul Wednesday on a surprise visit to the alliance troops and to meet Karzai and other Afghan officials.

"Afghanistan is the first country I'm visiting in my new capacity as secretary general of NATO," he said, adding: "I give very high priority to Afghanistan; actually it will be my highest priority as secretary general."

Rasmussen's trip comes amidst an upsurge of violence by Taliban- led insurgents, who have vowed to disrupt the polls, the second direct vote for president in the history of war-shattered Afghanistan.

"Our troops will do their utmost to ensure the best possible security around the elections," Rasmussen said, adding, "It is an opportunity for the Afghan people to demonstrate that you do not bow to threat and violence of the enemies of Afghanistan."

With more than 100,000 international troops deployed from 42 counties, and with around 200,000 Afghan security forces, many Afghans fear that insecurity would not allow people in large portions of southern and eastern regions, where Taliban are most active, to cast their votes.

Speaking at the same press conference, Karzai called on the Taliban and Hezbi Islami, an associate group of the Taliban, to renounce violence and participate in the elections.

"We will request the Taliban to have the Afghan national interest in their hearts and minds and come and participate in the elections and through voting bring stability for Afghanistan," said Karzai, who is one of the 41 candidates in the elections.

"After elections, if I win, my first priority will be solidifying and speeding the peace process with the Taliban and Hezbi Islami, and all other groups who are not part of al- Qaeda or other terrorist networks," he said.

The worsening security and high casualties on the side of international troops have forced several NATO and non-NATO countries to call for talks with Taliban militants, who despite the ouster of their regime some eight years ago are still a force to be reckoned with.

"I am ready to take pragmatic steps that can include the security for our troops and even takes talks with number of groups within the Afghan society," Rasmussen said, insisting: "I would like to make it clear that for me it is also prerequisite that the groups we engage them put down their weapons and abide by the laws in this country."

Rasmussen's visit came as residents in the war-torn southern province of Kandahar said that a NATO bomb attack had killed four civilians, including three children. NATO forces in Kabul rejected the claim, saying those killed were insurgents.

Civilian deaths have long been a source of tension between Karzai's government and NATO forces. Karzai has repeatedly warned the alliance of failure in fight against terrorism if killing of civilians continued.

"We cannot accept the loss of innocent life. Unfortunately in an armed struggle we will see civilian casualties, but I can assure you that our troops will do their utmost to reduce the number of civilian casualties to absolute minimum," he said.

"A great majority of civilian casualties are caused by enemies of Afghanistan. They have no regards for Afghan lives," Rasmussen, who served as Denmark's prime minister before becoming NATO's chief, said.

He was Denmark's prime minister in 2005 when a series of cartoons in a Copenhagen newspaper with caricatures of the prophet Mohammed outraged Muslim public opinion. The publications sparked demonstrations in many Muslim countries including a bloody one in Afghanistan.

But during his first press conference after taking office in Brussels, Rasmussen said that the cartoons controversy was "an element of the past," saying that he was looking forward to working with Muslim leaders in Afghanistan, in particular.

Rasmussen is scheduled to meet other three major candidates for the presidential election on Thursday, NATO forces in Kabul said.(dpa)