Obama to halt Afghanistan troop drawdown

The US military will halt its withdrawal from Afghanistan, keeping thousands of troops in the war-ravaged country through 2017, President Barack Obama will announce.

Under the Obama administration's revised plans, the current 9800-strong US force will stay for much of 2016, dropping to about 5500 at the end of next year or in early 2017, a senior administration official said on Thursday.

The shift in Obama's planning marks the latest delay to his plans to end a war that has already raged on for 14 years.