Dec 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on a visit to Afghanistan on Thursday that he wanted to speed up efforts to double the size of the Afghan army to 134,000 troops. But the U.S. general in charge of their training said the expansion would be faster if it were not for endemic corruption in the Afghan forces. Here are some key facts about Afghanistan's security forces: * ARMY - The U.S. military says the professional Afghan National Army is largely a success story. - There are currently 68,000 soldiers in the ANA, with another 11,000 in training. - Afghanistan and the international community agreed in September to almost double the ANA to 134,000 soldiers by 2012. - The ANA now leads 62 percent of operations it participates in. * POLICE - Before 2001, Afghanistan had no concept of a police force, and the new Afghan National Police have been criticised for endemic corruption at all levels. - The ANP currently numbers 76,000, with an authorised strength of 82,000. - Nearly 23,000 police, more than a quarter of the entire force, have been trained since June 2007. - The U.S. military says an additional 2,300 trainers are needed to properly mentor police in local districts. - The ANP suffers more casualties than any other force. * BORDER POLICE - There are nearly 12,000 border police, with an authorised strength of 17,600. - The U.S. military is spending $70 million in the next year on training the force and aims to train another 4,200 officers. * AIR FORCE - Afghanistan's fledgling air force has expanded over the last year. It now flies 90 percent of its own missions, when a year ago 90 percent of its missions were flown by NATO-led forces. - The Afghan Air Force currently has eight fixed wing aircraft and 21 helicopters. - Plans are in place to expand the air force to around 120 aircraft, half of which will be helicopters.
People stand beside burnt military vehicles on the outskirts of Peshawar December 7, 2008. Hordes of Pakistani militants set on fire 96 trucks carrying Humvees and military vehicles for Western forces ...
Afghanistan
