Washington - US President Barack Obama ranked in this precarious Wednesday the security situation in Afghanistan and announced that it will maintain in 8400 the number of US troops in Afghanistan until the end of his government, instead of reducing effective to 5,500 soldiers by the end of the year as had been planned.
In a statement made at the White House, Obama said the role of US forces in Afghanistan remain unchanged: training and counseling for troops and Afghan police, and supporting counterterrorism missions against the Taliban and other groups.
Obama's term ends in January.
The Obama plan also provides for reducing the number of US troops from the current about 9,800 soldiers, but not as much as originally planned.
Obama, who took office in 2009 with a promise to reduce the number of US troops in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he had ended US combat operations in Afghanistan. But he acknowledged that security concerns remain.
"The security situation in Afghanistan remains precarious," Obama said. "The Taliban is still a threat. They gained ground in some places."
Taliban forces currently holds more territory in Afghanistan than at any other time since the US-led invasion in 2001, according to recent estimates of the United Nations (UN).
The militant group Islamic State also established a small presence in Afghanistan.
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