United States President Barack Obama has announced that the current US force of 98-hundred soldiers in Afghanistan will remain there through most of 2016.
Obama stressed that the mission is vital for US national security, saying that he would not allow Afghanistan to be used as safe haven for terrorists to attack the US again.
Obama also said he will continue to evaluate the plan going forward, adding that further adjustments can be made if required. Under the new plans, troop numbers will be reduced to 5,500 in 2017.
The cuts will affect the US military presence at four locations - Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and Kandahar. The US president had originally aimed to withdraw all but a small US-embassy based force at Kabul before he leaves office in January 2017.