BAGHDAD — Iraq has allocated $2.2 billion to train its military and security forces in 2005.

Prime Minister Iyad Alawi said the interim government has approved $2.2 billion, or 11 percent of the total state budget, for the recruitment and training of the military and police. Alawi said the effort would include the expansion of the military from 100,000 to 150,000 soldiers in 2005.

"We need to equip the police and army with the new modern weaponry," Alawi told a briefing on Tuesday. "When our forces are capable of taking over the war against the insurgents, we will be able to begin discussions with the multinational forces on the Iraq army taking over the lead role in maintaining security in Iraqi towns."

The budget would also facilitate the merger of the military and National Guard. The military, with a planned force of 27 battalions, would merge its command structure with the National Guard, with a planned 65 battalions.

On Tuesday, six Iraqi police were killed when insurgents detonated a car bomb at a police station in Tikrit. Officials have acknowledged that Sunni insurgents have been targeting Iraqi military and security forces in an effort to torpedo the Jan. 30 elections.

"There are still security problems but we have made advances," Alawi said.

Alawi said the budget would also help equip Iraqi military and police units. Until now, the United States has funded the training and equipping of Iraq's security forces.

"In reality, there is not a single task that's bigger or more important to the government than to create an army and internal security forces that guarantee us a safe life immune from fear," Alawi said. "Our vision for the Iraqi armed forces is a smaller army -- well-equipped and fully trained."

Alawi said the focus of the plan was to bolster the army, police and security forces. He said the air force and navy would be "small but very effective."

"We all know that the evil terrorist powers try to destroy the Iraqi structure and economic facilities, and attack the oil facilities," Alawi said. "We have to support the role of the police and expand recruitment to police. We have to increase security protection teams and deploy these forces all over the country."

For their part, U.S. officials said Iraq Army soldiers have completed what they termed a rigorous basic training program in Mosul to prepare for counter-insurgency missions. They said the soldiers were being deployed for such missions in northern Iraq.

Officials said the training program included instruction and testing on marksmanship, weapons, leadership, tactics and first aid. They said about 4,000 Iraqi soldiers were undergoing training for deployment over the next few weeks.