Kabul, Mar 15: The strength of Afghanistan’s army has reached 150,000 personnel, the local TV channel Tolonews reported on Wednesday.

“We have so far built up a 150,000-strong and equipped army which is capable of ensuring security and defending the country’s boundaries,” Afghan Defense Ministry’s spokesman Enayatullah Khawarazmi was quoted as saying.

Personnel of the previous regime are also within the rank of the national army, Khawarazmi said.

The Afghan caretaker government has been continuing to build all its security apparatus with its own resources.

The former regime’s 350,000-strong security forces including army and police had been dismantled with the collapse of the U.S.-backed administration following U.S.-led forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan in late August 2021.