UPDATE 1-Petraeus says new routes agreed for Afghan supplies

(Recasts, adds background)

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. regional military chief General David Petraeus said on Tuesday agreements had been reached for new transport routes into northern Afghanistan through Central Asia.

Those routes would supplement shipments through Pakistan where Taliban militants have been attacking trucks carrying goods to Western forces in land-locked Afghanistan.

Petraeus, on a visit to Pakistan, also said a U.S. air base in Kyrgystan used as a staging post for its operations in Afghanistan, should stay open.

"There have been agreements reached and there are transit lines now and transit agreements for commercial goods and services in particular, that includes several of the countries in Central Asia and Russia," Petraeus told reporters.

The U.S. Central Command chief visited Kyrgystan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in recent days where he said he discussed the possibility of increasing supplies for Western forces in Afghanistan.

He did not give details but said the new routes into Afghanistan were important in view of a build-up of U.S. forces there this year.

"This is very important, as we increase the effort in Afghanistan, that we have multiple routes that go into the country," he said.