MOSCOW, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - A pullout of the United States troops from Afghanistan is 'not a decision that's on the table to make,' the White House press secretary said.
Eight U.S. soldiers were killed in an attack by the radical Islamic Taliban group in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday.
"I don't think we have the option to leave. I think that's quite clear," Robert Gibbs told reporters at the daily White House briefing on Monday.
The attack, the deadliest assault on the coalition forces for more than a year, occurred in the remote province of Nuristan near the Pakistani border when the militants attacked two outposts.
Violence has surged in Afghanistan in recent months, with the radical Islamic Taliban group, toppled in a 2001 U.S.-led campaign, staging regular attacks on provincial government officials, police and civilians and planting roadside devices as part of the battle with U.S. and NATO troops.
Since the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, about 800 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.
