UK to withdraw nearly all its troops from Afghanistan

Britain will withdraw nearly all its troops from Afghanistan following the U.S. plan to withdraw its troops by Sept. 11, 2021, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Britain has drawn up plans to hand over control of the academy in Kabul where troops help to train Afghan soldiers to the government, the newspaper said.

There are about 750 British soldiers in Afghanistan who would struggle without U.S. support because of the reliance on U.S. bases and infrastructure, according to the Times.

This comes after President Joe Biden will withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United. States.

According to the Washington Post, sources said Biden is expected to announce the decision on Wednesday to keep troops in the country beyond the May 1 deadline.

The Post reported that while the Taliban has vowed to renew attacks on U.S. and NATO personnel if foreign troops are not out by the deadline, it is not clear if the militants will follow through with those threats given Biden’s plan for a phased withdrawal between now and September.

Biden’s decision comes after a review of the US-Taliban agreement signed in February last year in Doha which calls for troops to be withdrawn by May 1.