US Troops In Afghanistan

The White House denied President Trump and Vice-President Pence were briefed on intelligence that a Russian military unit secretly offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American troops

The US is close to finalising a decision to withdraw more than 4,000 troops from Afghanistan according to the Washington-Taliban deal, a media report said on Saturday

The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the movement ahead of a public announcement

Meanwhile, in an interaction with Pentagon reporters, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the peace deal signed with the Taliban in Doha over the weekend was a conditions-based agreement

The vote comes two days after a US airstrike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani inside Iraq, dramatically increasing regional tensions

NBC on Saturday cited three current and former US officials as saying the Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of 4,000 troops from Afghanistan.

As part of his new strategy, Trump said he will prolong the US military intervention in Afghanistan

About 8,400 US troops are currently there, training, Afghan troops in their fight against Taliban

The US-led coalition ended their combat mission against the Taliban in 2014