BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro, Aug. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Slovenia said on Tuesday that a new contingent of its peacekeepers have arrived in Afghanistan to join the NATO-led peacekeeping mission, the Slovene Press Agency reported.

    The 39-member unit, to be operative as of the end of August, isthe fourth and largest Slovenian contingent so far sent to Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

    Unlike the first three, which performed reconnoiter tasks in Kabul and its outskirts, the fourth will be charged with safeguarding the Arena base camp near Herat, said the statement.

    The Slovenian Armed Forces have been cooperating with the NATO mission in Afghanistan since February 2004. Enditem