UK to withdraw 500 troops from Afghanistan in 2012

[July 06, 2011]  LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron says the U.K. will withdraw 500 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012.

Cameron told Parliament on Wednesday that he will reduce the size of British forces to 9,000. Britain has the second largest contingent of international military personnel in Afghanistan behind the United States.

His announcement follows President Barack Obama's decision last month that 33,000 American troops will leave the country by the end of next summer.

Cameron arrived back in Britain late Tuesday following a two-day visit to Kabul and Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, where British forces are mainly based.

He told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Britain would increase development aid as it reduces troop levels.

[Associated Press]

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