US sticks to promise, begins troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

KABUL: The US on Tuesday began the first phase of a troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, a key Taliban condition prior to signing an historic peace deal on Feb. 29. In a statement on Monday, Col. Sonny Leggett, spokesman for American forces in Afghanistan, said: “In accordance with the US-Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Joint Declaration and the US-Taliban Agreement, US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) has begun its conditions-based reduction of forces to 8,600 over 135 days.” Based on the agreement,...