650 US troops expected in Afghanistan within days

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US is planning to deploy about 650 troops to Afghanistan in the coming days to ensure the security of the forces as they withdraw from the country.

CNN quoted unnamed officials as saying that the deployment was given the go-ahead by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin late last week.

The troop dispatch is part of a package of military assets being sent to Afghanistan to facilitate the US exit, which will be completed by September 11.

“The ground troops are largely expected to come from the 75th Ranger Regiment, which already has some personnel in the region,” the channel reported.

A day earlier, Gen. Austin Scott Miller, commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said some military personnel were being moved within the country.

Gen. Miller told reporters in Kabul: “All of our forces are now preparing to retrograde. Officially the notification date will be the first of May.”

At the same time, the US commander confirmed the Americans had already begun withdrawing from military bases.

PAN Monitor/mud