A US official has told ABC news that the Defense Secretary James Mattis authorized 3,500 additional troops to deploy to Afghanistan as part of the troop buildup associated with President Donald Trump's South Asia Strategy.
Late last month Trump announced his new strategy on Afghanistan which included an increase in the number of US troops to the country.
Reports in the past indicated that Mattis favored the Pentagon's recommendation to send about 3,900 more troops to Afghanistan.
On Friday, Mattis told reporters that he had signed deployment orders for some of the additional troops that would be sent, though he would not disclose the number.
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