Faced with a resurgent Taliban insurgency, President Barack Obama has decided to maintain 9,800 US troops in war-torn Afghanistan till 2016 and subsequently reduce it to 5,500, officials in Washington on Thursday. Obama is expected to make an announcement in this regard later on Thursday.
American military commanders have called for increased assistance and support from the US to help Afghanistan fight the Taliban and secure gains made over the last 14 years of a bloody war with billions of dollars in aid.
"As a result of an extensive, months-long review, and in consultation with his full national security team and our Afghan partners, the President will announce later today that he has decided to maintain the current posture of 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through most of next year," a senior administration official told PTI.
"In addition, he has decided that post-2016, we will maintain 5,500 troops at a small number bases, including at Bagram, Jalalabad in the east, and Kandahar in the south," the official said.
"This announcement in no way changes the fact that our combat mission in Afghanistan has ended, and we will continue to undertake only two narrow missions: counter-terrorism and training, advising, and assisting our Afghan partners," the official said.
