Afghan President welcomes decision

Afghan security forces will be ready to take over from foreign troops, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said on Thursday after Washington announced plans to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of the year, saying his counterpart Barack Obama had made the right decision.

Afghan security forces will be ready to take over from foreign troops, Afghan president Hamid Karzai said on Thursday after Washington announced plans to withdraw 10,000 troops by the end of the year, saying his counterpart Barack Obama had made the right decision.

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"The Afghan people's trust in the Afghan army and police is growing every day and preservation of this land is the job of Afghans," Karzai told a news conference.

"I welcome the decision of the US president today on pulling out (some of) ... its troops from Afghanistan and I consider this a right decision for the interest of both countries," the president said.