All US troops to leave Afghanistan by September 11

KATHMANDU: All US troops are due to leave Afghanistan by September 11.

President Joe Biden is preparing to announce that all US troops will leave Afghanistan before September 11, according to US government officials. An agreement reached between the Taliban and the Donald Trump administration last year called for US troops to leave Afghanistan by May. But President Biden has said it will be difficult to complete the withdrawal by May 1.

September 11 marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the United States. More than 2,500 American soldiers have been killed in the 20-year-old war. Last year, the United States agreed to withdraw all its troops within 14 months of the Taliban's ceasefire. The United States is set to announce the withdrawal of its troops within hours of reports that the Afghan government and the Taliban will attend a US-led peace conference in Turkey later this month.

More than 9,600 Netco soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, according to international media reports.