KABUL, Dec. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Afghanistan aimed to build a strong army loyal to elected Karzai's central government to replace the scattered local militia forces by 2007, newly appointed Afghan Defense Minister said at his first press briefing Wednesday.

    "The target to have a 70,000-strong army will be achieved by December 2006," Abdul Rahim Wardak told journalists here.

    Under the historic Bonn agreement signed in late 2001 among various Afghan groups, the post-war Afghanistan would have a 70,000 brand new strong army and of these, according to officials, 25,000 have already been recruited.

    The United States and its allies have been providing training to the personnel of the fledgling Afghanistan National Army (ANA).

    However, the Afghan Air Force would be set up until 2009, the minister noted.

    Afghanistan had some 400,000 armed militias before Karzai's post-Taliban transitional government begun the UN-sponsored national Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program in 2003 under which over 30,000 soldiers and military officers have been disarmed.

    "The process of DDR is going smoothly and would be completed in three months ahead of the parliamentary elections," Wardak referred to the first-ever upcoming Afghan Parliamentary Election slated for next April.

    Currently the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)'s some 8,000 troops and over 18,000 US-dominated coalition forces have been ensuring the country's peace and stability.

    "ISAF would stay in Afghanistan until the ANA and Afghan police were able to ensure the security of the country," he added.

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