In Pentagon's Footsteps: UK to Maintain Military Presence in Afghanistan

On October 15, President Barack Obama announced the United States would continue to station some 9,800 military personnel in Afghanistan throughout most of 2016 before dropping the number to about 5,500.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom will maintain its current military presence in Afghanistan throughout 2016, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Tuesday.

“I would like to inform the House that we have now concluded that we should maintain the scale of the UK’s current military mission in the country in 2016, to help build a secure and stable Afghanistan,” Fallon told the Parliament.

He added that some 450 UK military personnel would continue “to help develop Afghanistan’s future military leaders through our work at the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, to build capacity within the Afghan security ministries, and to provide vital support to NATO operations in Kabul.”

A US-led NATO combat force withdrew from Afghanistan in December 2014 after 13 years of operations in the country. A follow-up mission was launched in January 2015 to provide training and assistance to Afghan security forces.