Army ready for US drawdown

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP):

Afghanistan's NATO-trained military is ready to take responsibility for fighting Taliban insurgents and securing key parts of the country that will be the first to transition as the United States begins a troop drawdown in July, the Defence Ministry said yesterday.

Many Afghans are eager to see an American departure nearly 10 years after US forces invaded to oust al-Qaida's Taliban hosts from power, and President Barack Obama was expected to announce plans later yesterday to bring roughly 10,000 American troops home in less than a year.

But the drawdown, before a full pull-out by 2014, carries enormous risks for a US-allied government still beset by attacks from Taliban and other insurgents.

"There will be some battles, there will be suicide attacks, and bomb attacks," Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said of the coming transition period. "But we in the Afghan forces are prepared to replace the foreign forces and I'm confident the army has enough capacity and ability."