President Ghani hails Obama's decision to retain 8,400 American troops

Kabul, July 7 (ANI): Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today hailed the United States President Barack Obama's decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan to counter the threat from a resurgent Taliban. "The decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan is a sign of continued partnership between our nations to fight our common enemy and strengthen regional stability," Tolo News quoted Ghani as saying. The President recognized Washington as a reliable partner in fighting against terrorism. "The role of the United States troops as a reliable partner in the field of fighting against terrorism and also the technical and security cooperation with Afghanistan's security forces is important," he added. Ghani's remarks comes after President Obama announced on yesterday that "instead of going down to 5,500 troops by the end of this year, the United States will maintain approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan into next year through the end of his administration. With his tenure ending few months now, Obama said that additional troops would enable his successor to have "a solid foundation for continued progress" in Afghanistan. The U.S. troops in Afghanistan, operating under the NATO banner, mostly work as trainers or advisers to Afghan forces. Currently, around 40 NATO members and partner countries contribute to the overall force of nearly 13,000 in the country. (ANI)