(VOVworld) - President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the US will keep about 5,000 troops in Afghanistan and halt the withdrawal of American military forces from this country through the end of his term in 2017.

American Army soldiers at a base in the Khogyani district of Afghanistan in August. (Photo: Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images)

American senior officials said President Obama initially planned to withdraw almost all US soldiers by the end of 2016 and just leave some stationed at the US Embassy.

But according to US military leaders, Afghans still need support from the US to keep back Taliban militants and maintain the gains of the past 14 years.