US intends to announce withdrawal of 4,000 troops from Afghanistan next week

The United States has planned to withdraw around 4,000 of its servicemen from Afghanistan next week in the wake of the resumption of the talks between Washington and Taliban, the local media reported after citing US officials on Sunday (December 15).

After the possible withdrawal, about 8,000-9,000 US soldiers would remain in the war-torn country, while the total pullout would be phased and occur over a few months, the NBC News broadcaster stated.

Last Sunday, the Taliban announced that the talks with the US had resumed in Doha after a three-month hiatus.

A source close to the Taliban told Sputnik that both sides had discussed in Doha the reduction of violence and conditions that could spur intra-Afghan talks to begin.

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However, on Thursday, US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad announced a “brief pause” in Taliban peace talks following an attack on Bagram a US intends to announce withdraw 4,000 troops from Afghanistan next week: Reportsirbase that killed two and wounded dozens of civilians.

Khalilzad said that the Taliban must show a willingness to respond to the Afghan desire for peace.

The US and the Taliban had for nearly a year been attempting to negotiate a peace deal that would ensure the withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for the GROUP’S guarantee that the country will not become a safe haven for terrorists.

The talks, however, excluded the Afghan government over the Taliban’s unwillingness to talk to Kabul.

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The negotiations, last week, ended with no results as US President Donald Trump announced in September that the talks were “dead” after the Taliban had claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in Kabul that killed a US serviceman.

(With input from agencies.)