NATO to sustain training mission in Afghanistan

Speaking to reporters after the meeting of the Heads of the States and Government on Thursday, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “We reviewed our training mission in Afghanistan, and we agreed that we will continue to sustain our mission.”

Stoltenberg further added “I welcome that several Allies came forward today with new troop contributions. And on the basis of our review, we will take further decisions in the coming weeks.”

In his statement ahead of the meeting in Brussels  on Thursday, Stoltenberg emphasized on the role of the alliance to train the local forces so that they can fight terrorism.

“Training local forces is one of the best weapons in the fight against terrorism. We are already training Iraqi forces,” he added.

The NATO Secretary General admitted that many challenges still persist in Afghanistan.

However, he said “But we have achieved a lot. We have been able to train and build Afghan forces which are now able to take responsibility for security in their own countries themselves. That’s a great and important achievement. And the Afghans show professionalism and bravery in the way that they handle the security situation in Afghanistan.”

The military alliance began considering a troop increase earlier this month after it received a request from army chiefs for more soldiers to help in the fight against the Taliban,

According to reports, NATO already has more than 13,000 troops in Afghanistan, including around 6,900 US and 500 British military personnel, who are training the Afghan armed forces.

The US has an additional 1,500 soldiers conducting assist missions directly under Pentagon command.