Iran Press/America: US President, Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to come up with a plan to withdraw nearly half of the more than 14,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan, defense officials and a person briefed on the matter told NBC News on Thursday.
The plans are due shortly after the new year, according to the officials. They cautioned that no decision has been made, but Trump wants to see options.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one US official told The Associated Press that the troops could be out of Afghanistan by summer, but no final decision has been made.
The White House has asked the Pentagon to look into multiple options, including a complete withdrawal, the officials said.
The reports come a day after the US president announced the country's military withdrawal from Syria.
Related News:
Trump Ordered Full Withdrawal of US Troops From Syria: officials
On Wednesday morning, following reports by The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post that the US president was preparing an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Syria, Trump took to Twitter and declared victory against ISIS in Syria in a tweet.
Trump's surprise decision to withdraw American forces from Syria an Afghanistan comes as his defense minister, Jim Mattis, announced his resignation from his post.
In his letter of departure, Gen Mattis mentioned his diverging views with the president, but did not cite troops withdrawals directly.
Marine Corps four-star general Mattis announced his resignation on Thursday December 20
US troops stormed into Afghanistan in November 2001 in an invasion that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Last month, a study by the Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs said hundreds of thousands of people have been killed due to the so-called "war on terror" launched by the United States in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, including 38,480 civilians in Afghanistan.
An estimated 2,798 civilians have been killed and 5,252 others wounded in attacks across the country from January to September this year, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani meanwhile said in November that 28,529 Afghan security forces had been killed since the start of 2015, a figure far higher than anything previously acknowledged. That is an average of about 20 soldiers killed every day. 101
Read More:
US bombing in Afghanistan increases significantly in 2018
US transfers Daesh members to Afghanistan: Iran Parliament Speaker
