The head of the U.S. military's Central Command says more U.S. troops will be needed on the ground in Afghanistan in the fight against the Taliban and other forces.
General Joseph Votel told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on March 9 that he thinks "it will involve additional forces to ensure that we can make the advise-and-assist mission more effective."
Votel told the Senate panel he was working on a new strategy aimed at breaking what he described as a "stalemate" in Afghanistan against the Taliban.
Votel's comments echo similar remarks he made on February 24 about the situation in Syria, when he indicated further U.S. troops would be needed in the battle to fight so-called Islamic State (IS) militants there.
On March 9, the Pentagon said it was deploying a “temporary force” of 400 additional U.S. ground troops to Syria in order to help defeat IS in Raqqa, the militants' self-proclaimed capital.