Pentagon Sending 5,700 New Troops to Afghanistan, Europe

The Pentagon announced Thursday it would send about 5,700 soldiers later this year to Afghanistan and Europe on regular troop rotations, Stars and Stripes reported.

About 1,700 soldiers from Fort Stewart in Georgia and Fort Bragg in North Carolina will head to Afghanistan in the summer to replace troops there; another 4,000 from a Fort Riley, Kansas, brigade will deploy to Europe in the fall, according to the military news outlet.

A Pentagon spokesman, Eric Pahon, said the new deployment will not increase the size of U.S. forces in either location, Stars and Stripes reported.

Two months ago, Army Gen. John Nicholson, the top American commander in Afghanistan, asked for "a few thousand" additional troops to boost the NATO-led training and advising of Afghan security forces – saying the war against the Taliban was at a stalemate.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, in Afghanistan, said Monday he would soon make a decision on the issue.

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