Trump to withdraw 'significant' troops from Afghanistan

US President Donald Trump has decided to pull a significant number of troops from Afghanistan, a US official told AFP on Thursday, with the Afghan presidency brushing off concerns the drawdown would affect security.

Reports suggested as many as half of the 14,000 troops in the war-torn country could be leaving.

The surprise move stunned and dismayed foreign diplomats and officials in Kabul who are involved in an intensifying push to end the 17-year conflict with the Taliban, which already controls vast amounts of territory and is causing "unsustainable" Afghan troop casualties.

"If you're the Taliban, Christmas has come early," a senior foreign official in the Afghan capital told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

"Would you be thinking of a ceasefire if your main opponent has just withdrawn half their troops?"
"We are more than happy, they realised the truth. We are expecting more good news."