Obama abandons pledge to withdraw armed forces

A 9,800-strong force will stay after 2016 as leader admits Afghan military is not ready

US President Barack Obama has announced that thousands of US troops will remain in Afghanistan past 2016 after admitting that Afghan forces are not ready to stand alone.

Retreating from a major campaign pledge, he called his decision on Thursday to keep a 9,800-strong force in Afghanistan through much of next year "the right thing to do".

"Afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be," Obama said. "As commander in chief, I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven for terrorists to attack our nation again."

When he became president in 2009, Obama pledged to end the war in Iraq and the one in Afghanistan that has now cost more than 2,000 US lives, and wounded and maimed tens of thousands.

More than six years on, thousands of troops remain in both countries.

Obama's repeated promises to end the "longest war" in US history have again been thwarted by a dogged Taliban insurgency.

Addressing battle-weary troops who may now be forced to return for another tour of duty, Obama said they could "make a real difference" to stabilizing a strategic partner.

"I do not send you into harm's way lightly," he told them. "I do not support the idea of endless war, and I have repeatedly argued against marching into open-ended military conflicts that do not serve our core security interests."

The war was prompted by the Taliban refusal to surrender al-Qaida leaders including Osama bin Laden after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Obama's decision - announced in an address from the Roosevelt Room of the White House - means he bequeaths to his successor a 14-year war that he inherited from George W. Bush.

Under previous plans for Afghanistan, the United States would have reduced its troop numbers by the end of 2016 from about 10,000 to around 1,000.

But now, by late next year or early 2017 when Obama steps down and the 45th US president is sworn in, their numbers are expected to remain at about 5,500.

Intense fighting has underscored the continued role of US troops in training the still fledgling Afghan forces and in vital counterterror operations.

Just this week the NATO coalition said US and Afghan forces had carried out one of their largest joint operations in southern Kandahar province, dismantling a major al-Qaida sanctuary in the Taliban's historic heartland.

The Taliban responded to the announcement by saying they would fight until US troops finally are pulled out.

Putin warns of incursion into Central Asia

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned leaders of Central Asian nations of a possible militant incursion from Afghanistan.

Speaking at a summit of the heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Astana, Kazakhstan on Friday, Putin said that the situation in Afghanistan is "close to critical" and called on his counterparts to be prepared to act together to repel a possible attack.

Putin has also praised his own military for airstrikes on the Islamic State group in Syria, saying that they destroyed dozens of command centers.

Putin's statement comes a day after US President Barack Obama announced plans to keep about 9,800 US troops in place in Afghanistan through most of next year to continue counterterrorism missions.