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US Marines return to Afghanistan

Trump administration seeks to craft a new strategy in Afghanistan.

US Marines returned to Afghanistan’s volatile Helmand on Saturday, where American troops faced heated fighting until Nato’s combat mission ended in 2014, as embattled Afghan security forces struggle to beat back the resurgent Taliban.

The deployment of some 300 marines to the poppy-growing southern province came one day after the militants announced the launch of their “spring offensive”, and as the Trump administration seeks to craft a new strategy in Afghanistan.

Commander of the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan general John Nicholson attended a handover ceremony marking the return of the prestigious force, the first marines in Afghanistan since 2014. Part of a regular troop rotation announced in January under the Obama administration, they will arrive in stages.

( Source : AFP )
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