NATO ‘aware of reports’ about US troop cuts in Afghanistan

NATO said on Friday that it has seen media reports that the United States could be readying to pull thousands of troops out of Afghanistan, AP reported. Almost 17,000 troops from 39 nations take part in NATO’s Resolute Support mission helping to train and mentor Afghan security forces. About half of those troops are American. The US is by far the biggest and most influential member of NATO. A separate US force also conducts strikes on Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and the Taliban. It was unclear which American troops might leave or whether NATO has been informed. The spokesman for Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said on Friday the withdrawal of half of the 14,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan will have little impact on the fighting capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces.