July 7 (Reuters) - Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has signed a new agreement allowing the United States to keep using its air base in the Central Asian state, ending months of uncertainty over the base's future.

Here are some facts about the base.

* WHY IS IT THERE?

-- Kyrgyzstan was the target of cross-border raids by Islamic guerrillas in 1999 and 2000. It embraced Washington's campaign to root out Afghanistan's Taliban and invited U.S. forces to launch operations from its territory.

* WHERE IS THE BASE?

-- Manas air base is 35 km (22 miles) from Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, one of three former Soviet republics in Central Asia that allowed in Western troops after the September 2001 attacks on the United States.

-- U.S. forces set up the air base in Kyrgyzstan when they overthrew the Taliban government in Afghanistan late in 2001.

-- In July 2006, the United States agreed terms with Kyrgyzstan to carry on using the air base to support operations in Afghanistan.

* RECENT EVENTS:

-- Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted last February to approve the closure of the base in the Central Asian nation after securing pledges of $2 billion in aid and credit from Russia, which operates its own air base in the mainly Muslim nation.

-- However the United States has agreed to pay $180 million to Kyrgyzstan to keep the air base open, a key refuelling point for U.S. aircraft in NATO operations against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

* SOME DETAIL:

-- The base is home to the 376th Air Expeditionary Wing and serves as the main hub for the International Security Assistance Force and Coalition military operations in Afghanistan.

-- Missions from the base include aerial refuelling, combat airlift and airdrop, and medical evacuation.

-- The base also provides support for coalition personnel and carrying cargo to and from Afghanistan.

* NUMBERS:

-- Approximately 1,000 military personnel from the United States, Spain and France are assigned to the base, along with 650 U.S. and host-nation contractors. There are roughly 65 Spanish and 35 French troops at the base.

-- Around 15,000 people and 500 tons of cargo went through the base every month, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman has said.

-- The U.S. government pays $17.4 million per year for access and use of the base, Whitman said, with total U.S. government assistance to the country about $150 million a year.

-- Coalition aircraft flying to and from the base include U.S. KC-135s, Spanish C-130s and French C135FRs.

-- Manas has a 13,800-foot long runway, built for Soviet bombers. The facility covers 37 acres.

Sources: Reuters/Manas website:/globalsecurity.org

(For main story click on [ID:nL7697308])

(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)

AlertNet news is provided by