(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero says Spain will begin the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan next year and will complete the pullout by 2014.
On Friday, Zapatero said around 40 percent of the troops would come home in the first half of 2013.
He added that the withdrawal of Spanish forces would happen, "taking into account the evolution of circumstances, although the plan is quite advanced."
He made the remarks after US President Barack Obama announced his plan to pull out 33,000 US forces by the end of September 2012.
There are currently around 150,000 US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan -- 100,000 of them US forces.
The war in Afghanistan, with civilian and military casualties at record highs, has become the longest war in US history.
Spain currently has 1,500 military personnel in Afghanistan, most of which are involved in training operations.
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