KABUL - NATO is committed to train and equip the Afghan National Army (ANA) after the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) end their combat operation by the end of 2014, a NATO general said on Monday.

"The NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-A) was only started in the late 2009 and as a consequence with mission going on to 2014, we are not even half way through on mandate on our task, and with the announcement of NATO of course we'll stay here past 2014," Major General Michael Day, Deputy Commander of NTM-A told a joint press conference with the spokesman of ISAF Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson.

He said that NTM-A aims to bring the strength of Afghan National Army (ANA) from 171,600 at present to 195,000 by the end of 2014. Afghanistan is due to take over responsibility for its own security from over 140,000-strong ISAF with nearly 100,000 of them Americans by the end of 2014.