Dutch pullout raises fears of Taliban infiltration

The pullout by Dutch troops later this year from Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan is raising fears the area will be vulnerable to Taliban infiltration.

It would be a setback to the new strategy initiated by Washington and NATO to stabilize Afghanistan.

The two-thousand-strong Dutch contingent is due to start leaving the key province of Uruzgan, in the heart of Afghanistan, in August.

In neighboring Helmand Province, 15-thousand US, Afghan and NATO forces are in the ninth day of their push against insurgents in Marjah.

An Afghan boy looks back while Dutch soldiers patrol a village of Chora valley in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan on January 21. (AFP/File/Deshakalyan Chowdhury)