The U.S. and Tajikistan have completed a deal to allow the shipment of nonmilitary supplies to Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

The new route is one U.S. effort to replace the logistics hub of Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan, which local authorities have ordered shut by the end of the summer.

The first shipments through Tajikistan will be made by both rail and road, and could begin within a month, officials said. The trips would originate in Uzbekistan.

American officials have been seeking alternative routes for supplies headed to U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan, as militant attacks have mounted on key routes through Pakistan.

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