Brussels: The American general leading efforts to train Afghan security forces said today he expects their army will have 75,000 troops ready by the end of the year, close to the internationally agreed target for full strength. But he acknowledged progress was slower for the police and air force.

"I 'm very impressed by the advances made by the Afghan National Army," said Maj Gen Robert W Cone.

Currently, the army has 57,000 troops with another 9,000 in training, Cone told reporters during a visit to NATO headquarters. The Afghan government hopes to meet the target of an army of 80,000 early next year.

"We expect the Afghan army to grow to about 75,000 by the end of this year," he said.

NATO has been stepping up efforts to train local troops, hoping it can eventually start to replace the nearly 70,000 international troops there.

Cone declined to say when Afghan forces might begin to operate independently, allowing the international forces to draw down, but he said the local military was increasingly taking the lead in combat against the Taliban with NATO providing backup.

Afghan forces took the lead in about half of 180 operations they have been engaged in this spring and were currently working with Croatian, Norwegian and Swedish support on an offensive to secure difficult terrain in the west of the country, Cone said.

Since last year, Cone s US-led training effort has been increasingly focused on the Afghan police force, while other NATO allies take on a bigger army training role.

Source : PTI