US plans to slow troop withdrawal

The Obama administration is abandoning plans to cut the number of US forces in Afghanistan to 5,500 by year's end, bowing to military leaders who want to keep more troops in the country, US officials said.

While no final decision on numbers has been made, the administration is poised to slow withdrawal plans and probably will allow many of the 9,800 American troops to remain well into next year, AP reported, citing unnamed US officials.

But a senior US official told Reuters no decision has been made.