16 years after war, US President Donald Trump to announce new Afghan strategy

US President Donald Trump

Columbia: President Donald Trump will announce his decision on America`s strategy in Afghanistan in an address to US troops and the nation Monday night, almost 16 years after the war began.

The US leader will "provide an update on the path forward for America`s engagement in Afghanistan and South Asia" in an address to be delivered at 9 pm (0100 GMT Tuesday) from the military base at Fort Myer southwest of the capital, the White House said in a statement.

Trump gathered top security officials Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to weigh his options in the grueling conflict, saying afterwards that "many decisions" had been made.

Wary of international involvements but eager for progress in the drawn-out Afghan war, the Trump administration had originally promised a new plan by mid-July.

Trump was said to be dissatisfied by initial proposals to add a few thousand more troops in the country, and advisers were studying an expanded strategy for the broader South Asian region, including Pakistan.

There are now about 8,400 US and 5,000 NATO troops supporting Afghanistan`s security forces in the fight against Taliban and other militants. But the situation has remained as deadly as ever, with more than 2,500 Afghan police and troops killed from January 1 to May 8.