Earlier this week, Afghan National Army soldiers participate in a military demonstration in Kabul. They are preparing for the departure of foreign troops from Wardak, a strategic province near the capital.

Wednesday, an Afghan defense ministry spokesman told reporters in Kabul that the elite U.S. special forces would quit Wardak within a few days, despite earlier U.S. concerns that their departure would leave a security vacuum.

The expulsion of U.S. special forces has raised fears that Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami militants might use Wardak, just a 40-minute drive from Kabul, as a launch pad for attacks on the capital.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai first ordered their expulsion last month, after villagers accused them of torturing and killing civilians, an allegation the U.S. special forces denied.

Despite the deadline for their departure expiring over a week ago, U.S. special forces tasked with fighting the Taliban are still operating there, U.S. and Afghan offici