US To Keep 8,600 Troops After Taliban Peace Deal, Ensure Permanent Presence In Afghanistan: US President Donald Trump

The United States (US) will ensure a continued troop presence in Afghanistan even after the peace deal with Taliban has been reached, the US President Donald Trump has said, AFP reports.

"We're going down to 8,600 and then we make a determination from there. We're always going to have a presence" the US President said.

"We would come back with a force like ...never before," he added on being asked if another attack on the US was to originate from Afghanistan.

The US currently maintains 14,000 troops in the country, with a large number of personnel engaged in guiding and training the Afghan security forces. US had a peak deployment of 1,00,000 troops along with troops from other NATO countries.

The US and Taliban are currently engaged in a dialogue about the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with these ‘Doha Deliberations’ set to conclude on 1 September. While the Taliban wants all the US troops to move out, Trump’s comments provide clarity on the nature of withdrawal that is being negotiated.