U.S. 'Likely' to Pull Out 10,000 Troops from Afghanistan

President Barack Obama will "likely" withdraw about 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year, with half coming out this summer and the remainder leaving later in 2011, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

Another 20,000 troops, which formed part of a troop buildup ordered earlier by Obama, would be withdrawn by the end of 2012, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Agence France Presse.

The official described the numbers as the most "likely" option to be backed by the U.S. president, who has nearly tripled the U.S. military's presence since coming into office.

"That looks like where it's headed," the official said.

Obama, in a bid to turn the tide in the grinding war, ordered a surge of 30,000 reinforcements in December 2009, while promising to begin a gradual troop drawdown in July of this year.

These numbers, which were first reported in the Wall Street Journal and other U.S. media, suggest Obama for the most part has chosen to heed the advice of military commanders and keep most of the surge force in place this year and through next year's summer fighting season, officials said.

"It's a reflection the president has been listening to his military advisers," the official said.

"But also that he is following through on his commitment to the American people and to (Afghan) President (Hamid) Karzai" to begin a troop drawdown, the official said.

Obama is set to address the nation on the withdrawal on Wednesday, laying out an exit plan for a 10-year war launched in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001.