Britain to withdraw troops from Afghanistan from 2012: UK army chief

LONDON/KABUL - British army chief, Sir David Richards, has said that troops are likely to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in the early part of 2012.

General Richards told The Daily Telegraph that there was “certainly scope for reduction” of the 10,000 troops based in Helmand by 2012.

It is the first time a senior commander has explicitly given a date for when British soldiers might start returning home from the mission that has to date cost 345 lives.

It is expected that the withdrawal of troops will start with a few thousand, with numbers reduced to about 1,000 by the end of 2014.

The final force will probably remain in a supporting role for several years. (ANI)