U.S. forces have withdrawn from a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan following last week's major battle there with the Taliban, NATO-led forces said on Friday according to Reuters. The pullout was announced before the Oct. 3 attack, but the assault has drawn fresh attention to a new U.S. strategy to move troops out of remote areas and focus more on populated districts. "It is the intent of the ISAF (NATO-led force) commander, U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal, to place an emphasis on protecting the people of Afghanistan by focusing on more populated areas," the NATO-led force said in a statement. It said troops and equipment had been moved from the outpost in the Kamdesh district of northeastern Nuristan province to other locations in eastern Afghanistan. In the deadliest attack for U.S. forces since a July 2008 battle in nearby Kunar, eight U.S. soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters stormed remote outposts near the Pakistan border last week. At least two Afghan troops died in the firefight. -- SPA
