The reduction, which officials say could gradually drop the number of troops by several thousand, is happening even without any deal with the Taliban.

A Taliban delegation reportedly met earlier this month with Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation. The alleged gathering came during an official Taliban visit to Islamabad to meet with Pakistan officials.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary is inspiring his network of extremists and poses a renewed terror threat a year after he left jail, an analysis by experts has warned.

A total of 14 militants were confirmed dead as fighting planes struck a Taliban hideout in the beleaguered Darqad district of Afghanistan’s northern Takahr province, according to an army statement released here Tuesday.

The U.S. has begun winding down its troop presence in Afghanistan despite the lack of a working peace deal with Taliban forces, the top American commander in the country said Monday.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry says government forces have gained control of a district in the country’s north from the Taliban.

More than 50 militants have been killed elsewhere in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours as the government forces have intensified crackdowns on the armed insurgents, officials said Tuesday.

At least three security officers have been killed and dozens wounded, mostly children, after the Taliban set off explosives in a truck near a police headquarters building in eastern Afghanistan, officials have said.

Two-thirds of the votes cast for incumbent Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in last month’s presidential election were cast without proper biometric verification and fraudulent, a leading rival candidate, former warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar said Oct. 7, joining a chorus of candidates making similar accusations.

American and Afghan commandos killed the head of an affiliate of Al Qaeda in a southern Afghanistan raid last month, according to a statement released Tuesday by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency.