Illustration. Army specialist from C 3/82 Companny MEDEVAC Dustoff Nicole Derk make cross stitch when his shift in Logar Province, Eastern Afghanistan. (INTERMEDIATE/REUTERS/Umit Bektas/ox/11.)Kabul (Reuters)-the Government of Afghanistan on Wednesday, welcoming the announcement of President Barack Obama, who said that the United States will pull soldiers from 34 thousand war-torn countries in the next year.
"We welcome this," said Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, "we will take all security responsibility by the end of 2013."
"Our troops will replace them," he said, as quoted by AFP.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai has long supported the withdrawal of United States combat forces schedule and NATO by the end of 2014.
He says Afghanistan forces are capable of taking responsibility for the fight against Taliban guerrillas.
Obama, who gave the announcement of withdrawal of troops in his State, said that the withdrawal would continue and "at the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will end."
The Taliban called the withdrawal of the troops was not enough.
"The problem will not be completed by reducing or increasing the number of troops," said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
"During the invasion force remains in Afghanistan, the jihad (holy war) continues to progress. The problem is finished with the withdrawal of the occupation forces and the return of the overarching Afghanistan to Afghanistan people. "
Obama's move effectively halving the number of 66 thousand United States soldiers who are in Afghanistan, while NATO forces prepare to hand over control of security operations in Afghanistan security forces 352 thousand by the end of 2014.
NATO, which has about 40 thousand soldiers in Afghanistan, will also pull their troops gradually before the end of 2014.
(G003/B002)
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