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The U.S President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to withdraw at least half of the 14,000 U.S troops currently deployed to Afghanistan. It marks the beginning of the end of U.S involvement in the 17-year war in Afghanistan. The withdrawal was first reported on Thursday evening by the Wall Street Journal. It will remove about 7,000 American service members from Afghanistan. The U.S administration officials said that it would be the first stage in a withdrawal of U.S forces and it could take several months. The move comes just a day after Trump announced the withdrawal of U.S forces from Syria. The American troops are supporting Kurdish militia groups in the fight in Syria against the Islamic State militants.

White House also confirmed that ISIS to be “defeated” and all 2,000 American troops will be withdrawn or redeployed elsewhere within 30 days. Trump’s Syria announcement rankled many defense officials and observers in Washington’s national security establishment. The U.S Defense Secretary James Mattis had advocated a long-term military presence in Syria. He has resigned or retired over differences with Trump with respect to Syria policy and other strategic concerns. Trump was persuaded by senior national security aides to authorize a mini-surge of troops to Afghanistan and continue the anti-ISIS mission in Syria.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Afghanistan drawdown. But, the U.S-led war effort in Afghanistan has suffered serious setbacks during the current year. This year was one of the deadliest years for both Afghan security forces and civilians since the war began in 2001. It is noteworthy that more than 25 thousand U.S troops have died since the official end of U.S combat operation in Afghanistan in late 2014. Now, the Taliban has got control or contesting at least half of the country’s districts.