No orders yet for troop drawdown: US military

KABUL says it has not yet received orders to embark on reducing the number of troops.

In written comments to Voice of America, a spokesman for US forces said there was no timeline yet to begin a drawdown.

“We remain fully committed to the Resolute Support mission and our Afghan partners,” the spokesman added.

He said the US forces were trying to ensure that Afghanistan was never again used as a safe haven for terrorists who threaten the US and its allies.

Currently around 13,000 U.S. troops are deployed to Afghanistan and are conducting counterterrorism missions in addition to advising and training Afghan security forces battling the Taliban’s Resolute Support mission.

Trump had told an American broadcaster (Fox News Radio) in a recent interview he might reduce the number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan to around 8,600.

According to US media reports, President Donald Trump’s administration may announce this week a cut in American forces in Afghanistan by around 4,000.

Pan Monitor/mud