The first American soldiers of about 10,000 due to leave Afghanistan this year have flown home, military officials said on Friday, kicking off a gradual drawdown due to be completed in 2014.
US President Barack Obama in June announced that 33,000 American troops would leave Afghanistan by the end of next summer, leaving behind 65,000 and effectively ending a military surge ordered into the country late 2009. Around 650 US army troops deployed northwest of the capital in the province of Parwan flew out on Wednesday and will not be replaced by an incoming unit, the US military confirmed Friday. “It’s correct that these soldiers are the first to redeploy from Afghanistan without being replaced by a new rotation of soldiers since the president’s announcement,” said US army press officer Major Michael Wunn.
