Five US soldiers killed in Afghanistan in 'friendly fire' incident - Pentagon

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Five US soldiers who are Special Operations Forces were killed in a possible friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan on Monday, Defense Department officials say. A senior US defense official told Fox News early Tuesday that the troops were killed when they requested air support from a B-1 bomber after coming in contact with enemy forces.

Earlier Tuesday, a statement from NATO confirmed the soldiers' deaths, but did not give further details on their nationalities. Coalition policy is for home countries to identify their military dead.

NATO stays in Afghanistan to expand to Central Asia

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US President Barak Obama says NATO is staying in Afghanistan all the way through 2016. To make the stay more comfortable the Alliance proceeds with securing its positions in oil-rich and otherwise important locations along the Russian and Chinese borders. How does NATO view its cooperation with the Central Asian states? Should Moscow see those moves as a challenge to its regional interests?

Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

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US President Barack Obama landed in Afghanistan on Sunday for a surprise Memorial Day weekend visit with US troops to thank forces who are preparing to withdraw after nearly 13 years of war, Reuters reports. He said his administration was likely to announce soon on how many US troops to keep in Afghanistan after 2014.

U.S. to maintain 9 bases in Afghanistan after 2014

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The United States will maintain nine military bases in Afghanistan after NATO’s troop withdrawal in 2014.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed on Thursday that the bases, including in Kabul, Bagram, Mazari Sharif, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat, would stay because that was in the interests of Afghanistan.
The U.S. will cut its Afghan troop contingent from about 66,000 now to between 3,000 and 9,000 after 2014.