President Obama will announce plans on Thursday to keep 5,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016, a senior administration official said. These revised plans end Obama’s promise to bring U.S. troops home before he leaves office in 2017.
The remaining U.S. force will focus on training and advising Afghan security forces, specifically counterterrorism units. They will be based in Kabul and Bagram Air Field, as well as bases in Jalalabad and Kandahar, according to The Associated Press.
The announcement comes on the heels of a two-week siege in the northern city of Kunduz between the Taliban and coalition forces and ongoing reports of Islamic State militants within the country.