David Cameron will this week announce a further reduction of Britain’s military presence in Afghanistan with the withdrawal of up to 800 troops by the end of next year.
The prime minister is expected on Wednesday to outline fresh plans that will bring the number of British troops in the country below 9,000 for the first time since Gordon Brown ordered a troop surge in 2009.
It comes after President Barack Obama announced plans to pull 33,000 US troops out of Afghanistan by September next year. This intensified political pressure on Cameron to accelerate the withdrawal of British troops. Sources confirmed he will announce that about 500 to 800 troops will leave between next February and the end of 2012.
The withdrawal is in addition to the reduction of 400 troops announced in May. About 200 of these have already returned.
Cameron recently declared there will be no British troops in combat roles in Afghanistan in 2015. Security will be handed to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.
Advertisement
Obama said 10,000 American soldiers will leave Afghanistan this year and a further 23,000 by September 2012, leaving about 70,000 American troops in Afghanistan.