‘US troops to leave Afghanistan by Sept’
21 Jun 2012 1:08 AM GMT
Undeterred by the spike in terrorist attacks on its forces inside Afghanistan, the US has said that there is no change in its withdrawal-timeline from the war-torn country.
‘We are on track, and we will complete the withdrawal of rest of the surge forces by the end of September,’ Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby told reporters.
After that, Commander of US and NATO forces General John Allen will do an analysis of what the campaign looks like then, at the end of 2012, and what he anticipates the needs and requirements will be going into 2013, Kirby said.
‘He simply can't do that spadework right now while we're in the middle of the summer, and he still has those 23,000 at his disposal. And he owes the President an analysis and some thoughts about what force levels need to look like going into next year, and we are not at the stage right now where he can make that determination,’ Kirby said.
‘This will be a discussion that he has with his military chain of command and with the civilian chain of command, and decisions will be forthcoming as a result of that conversation,’ the Pentagon spokesman said.
Kirby said the mandate of General Allen is to withdraw the remaining 23,000 surge forces by the end of September.
‘How he gets to that point is up to him. He can control the pace of the recovery of those troops as long as they're out by the end of September,’ he said. Agencies
17 KILLED IN ATTACK ON AFGHAN-NATO PATROL
A suicide bomber on a motorbike struck a joint Afghan-NATO patrol in the town of Khost on Wednesday, killing 17 Afghans and causing coalition casualties, officials said.
The blast in the eastern town close to the border with Pakistan, where Taliban and other Islamist insurgents fighting US-led troops have strongholds, also wounded 37 people, hospital officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi blamed the ‘enemies of Afghanistan’, a phrase commonly used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban.
The Taliban, leading a 10-year insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's western-backed government, have begun the annual fighting season with a series of attacks which saw US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta admit that violence was rising.
Sediqqi said on Wednesday's blast was aimed at a combined Afghan and coalition patrol passing through Khost.
It is the second significant attack on NATO forces this month in the town, after a suicide truck bomber targeted a US-run base on June 1, sparking clashes that left up to 15 people dead.
US media reported that more than 100 American troops were treated for injuries after that blast.
Amir Padsha, the director of Khost city hospital said 11 dead had been brought to his hospital, including three police officers and eight civilians, along with 17 wounded. Babri Gul, the head of the Babri Gul private hospital in Khost, said he had received six bodies, including four members of the same family, and 20 wounded.
Major Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the attack targeted coalition and Afghan forces.
He said it ‘caused some ISAF casualties’, but was unable to say whether the troops were dead or wounded.
‘We are on track, and we will complete the withdrawal of rest of the surge forces by the end of September,’ Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt John Kirby told reporters.
After that, Commander of US and NATO forces General John Allen will do an analysis of what the campaign looks like then, at the end of 2012, and what he anticipates the needs and requirements will be going into 2013, Kirby said.
‘He simply can't do that spadework right now while we're in the middle of the summer, and he still has those 23,000 at his disposal. And he owes the President an analysis and some thoughts about what force levels need to look like going into next year, and we are not at the stage right now where he can make that determination,’ Kirby said.
‘This will be a discussion that he has with his military chain of command and with the civilian chain of command, and decisions will be forthcoming as a result of that conversation,’ the Pentagon spokesman said.
Kirby said the mandate of General Allen is to withdraw the remaining 23,000 surge forces by the end of September.
‘How he gets to that point is up to him. He can control the pace of the recovery of those troops as long as they're out by the end of September,’ he said. Agencies
17 KILLED IN ATTACK ON AFGHAN-NATO PATROL
A suicide bomber on a motorbike struck a joint Afghan-NATO patrol in the town of Khost on Wednesday, killing 17 Afghans and causing coalition casualties, officials said.
The blast in the eastern town close to the border with Pakistan, where Taliban and other Islamist insurgents fighting US-led troops have strongholds, also wounded 37 people, hospital officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi blamed the ‘enemies of Afghanistan’, a phrase commonly used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban.
The Taliban, leading a 10-year insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's western-backed government, have begun the annual fighting season with a series of attacks which saw US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta admit that violence was rising.
Sediqqi said on Wednesday's blast was aimed at a combined Afghan and coalition patrol passing through Khost.
It is the second significant attack on NATO forces this month in the town, after a suicide truck bomber targeted a US-run base on June 1, sparking clashes that left up to 15 people dead.
US media reported that more than 100 American troops were treated for injuries after that blast.
Amir Padsha, the director of Khost city hospital said 11 dead had been brought to his hospital, including three police officers and eight civilians, along with 17 wounded. Babri Gul, the head of the Babri Gul private hospital in Khost, said he had received six bodies, including four members of the same family, and 20 wounded.
Major Martyn Crighton, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed the attack targeted coalition and Afghan forces.
He said it ‘caused some ISAF casualties’, but was unable to say whether the troops were dead or wounded.
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