WASHINGTON – The US military is redeploying its troops from an American-ledcoalition base in Iraq to Afghanistan following the defeat of Deash in thecountry, Fox News reported.
The report said that it western contractors at the base say US troops beganthe drawdown over the past week, with groups of soldiers leaving the baseon daily flights.
However, the exact scale of the redeployment was unclear.
According to various estimates, as of 2016, there were more 5,000 USmilitary personnel stationed in Iraq, with nearly 4,000 deployed to supportand assist local groups fighting Daesh militants.
The remaining personnel included special operations forces, logisticalworkers and troops on temporary rotations, the BBC reported.
Iraqi officials reportedly said their government reached an agreement withthe US-led coalition to reduce the number of troops in Iraq.
The reported military buildup in Afghanistan is the latest sign of agrowing US focus on Afghanistan as the primary conflict.
The White House reportedly signed off in August on deploying an additional4,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The US Army is also floating plans to increase the total US force in thecountry by 1,000 in a bid to boost Afghan forces’ fight against theTaliban, the Washington Post reported.
Since Trump took office, the number of troops has nearly doubled inAfghanistan – from 8,500 in early 2017 to 14,000 today.