Washington:US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper confirmed that US troops in Afghanistan would be reduced to less than 5,000 by the end of November.
"We're going down to a number less than 5,000 by the end of November. We need to brief Congress from what that looks like," Esper said in an interview on Saturday.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump revealed the force reduction plan in an interview.
When asked how many American troops will be in Afghanistan on presidential election day in early November, Trump said, "It would be probably, anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000."
The Pentagon said in mid-July that the United States maintained its force level in Afghanistan at mid-8,000s, meeting the conditions of the US-Taliban deal signed in late February.