"Classic wars between two well-armed states will not take place in the foreseeable future," Struck told the daily Leipziger Volkszeitung.

"Wars will be more direct and palpable for German citizens, for example, in hotels or resorts. I think that Germans will accept that we have our part to do in fighting such terror attacks."

He said this would mean more missions abroad for the armed forces.

Struck announced last week that the armed forces would have to streamline their operations to respond to a government austerity drive and new challenges in national defense and international peacekeeping operations.

"It is no longer a realistic scenario that our country would have to be defended from attack by air, by land or across our borders," Struck said at that point.

"We are adjusting to the new requirements, particularly in the wake of September 11."

The German parliament has approved the deployment of up to 3,900 troops as part of US-led anti-terrorism operations. About 2,000 soldiers are currently serving in missions in Kuwait, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa.

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