US to withdraw troops from Pakistan

The Pentagon said it had received a request from the Pakistani government to reduce its presence in the country.

The request came after a raid by US special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in early May.

The US has more than 200 troops in Pakistan helping to train the army. But there are said to be intelligence and special forces operating there.

A spokesman at the Pentagon said that within the last two weeks Pakistan had asked the American military to reduce its footprint, and the Americans were doing so, pulling out some troops. The numbers are quite small.

It is not clear if any of the American intelligence and special operations forces that are said to be in Pakistan clandestinely are also being pulled out; Kazinform refers to BBC News.

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