이번엔 이라크 주둔 미군 감축…이달 중 5천200명서 3천명으로

The U.S. commander in the Middle East says the number of American troops stationed in Iraq will be slashed this month from the current 52-hundred to 3-thousand.
The number of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan will also be significantly lowered.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
General Frank McKenzie,... the Commander of the U.S. Central Command,... says Washington will pull 22-hundred American troops out of Iraq in September,... leaving just three-thousand in the country.
The general said the decision came as Washington has "confidence in the Iraqi Security Forces' increased ability to operate independently."
The decision has long been expected as President Trump looks to make good on his 2016 campaign pledge ahead of the November 3rd election.
The Pentagon advised the president that roughly 3-thousand troops should remain,... to assist the Iraqi government in its fight against the Islamic State group.
According to a senior Trump administration official on Tuesday,... the U.S. is also expected to announce a further troop withdrawal in the coming days,.... this time from Afghanistan.
According to CNN,... the Trump administration plans to slash the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan from 86-hundred to 45-hundred,... which would be the lowest number of troops stationed there since the very earliest day of the war in Afghanistan.
The decision comes under a deal signed with the Taliban in February,... where the U.S. agreed to pull all of its troops out of Afghanistan by April 2021,... if the Taliban upholds its commitments made in the agreement.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.