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US Agrees to Limit Troops in Pakistan


U.S. Senator John Kerry and Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani prior to official talks in Islamabad shortly after U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May 2011 (file photo).
U.S. Senator John Kerry and Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani prior to official talks in Islamabad shortly after U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad in May 2011 (file photo).

The United States has agreed to limit the number of military personnel stationed in Pakistan.

According to U.S. officials who did not want to be named, a new agreement cuts the number of U.S. troops allowed in Pakistan by half, to between 100 and 150. The number of elite special operations trainers will also be drastically reduced - from around 140 to as few as a dozen.

Pakistan called for the reduction after U.S. special forces killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2. The raid further strained ties between the countries.

Immediately after the U.S. raid on bin Laden's compound, Pakistan called for U.S. to withdraw personnel who were helping train Pakistan's military in counterinsurgency.

In June, Pakistani security officials said that about 90 of the approximately 130 U.S. trainers had been sent home.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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