US set to withdraw ALL troops from Afghanistan in 14 months if deal with Taliban is upheld – statement

Washington and its allies plan to pull all of their troops out of Afghanistan within 14 months if commitments under the planned US-Taliban deal are implemented in full, the joint US-Afghan document says.

According to the statement by the US and Afghan governments, the US will first scale down the number of soldiers it has currently stationed in Afghanistan, from 13,000 to 8,600, within the first 135 days following an agreement with the Taliban, which is expected to be signed later on Saturday. The remaining US and NATO troops will withdraw from the country within 14 months, clearing all of their bases.

The withdrawal process is conditional on the Taliban fulfilling its commitments under the deal. The peace agreement will include guarantees “to prevent the use of Afghan soil by any international terrorist groups or individuals [working] against the security of the United States and its allies.”

US President Donald Trump said earlier that the agreement may pave the way for the end of political violence in Afghanistan and allow American soldiers to return home.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attack, and has been fighting the Taliban insurgency ever since.

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