US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Tuesday that he was "comfortable" with a proposal to increase the size of Iraqi security forces, indicating he might approve the proposal.

"I'm very comfortable with the increases they've proposed and the accelerations in achievement of some of their targets," Rumsfeld told reporters.

The defense chief was replying to a question about a news report that the top US commander in Iraq, George Casey, would recommend increasing Iraq's security forces by up to 100,000 soldiers and police.

There were currently about 310,000 members in the Iraqi security forces, and the planned target by year's end was 325,000, which included the army, police and border control forces.
 
Rumsfeld did not disclose the number of soldiers in the proposed increase, but said the final decision would be announced in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.

Casey said at a news conference last week that the Iraqi Defense Ministry had planned to increase its forces.

The United States now had about 150,000 troops in Iraq, slightly higher than last week.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2006)