3,800 U.K. troops leaving Afghanistan in 2013
Updated at 10:16 a.m. Eastern
LONDON Prime Minister David Cameron announced Wednesday that some 3,800 British troops would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2013.
Some 5,000 will remain into 2014, Cameron told lawmakers.
The announcement comes after a lengthy video call Tuesday between Cameron and President Obama.
There are some 60,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but President Obama has said he wants the combat presence ended in 2014. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said last week that he expects President Obama to make a decision on the level and pace of the U.S. drawdown for 2013 in the coming weeks.
- Blast rocks U.S. contractor's compound in Kabul
- 10 young Afghan girls killed in explosion
- Watch: Unique hospital treats civilian casualties of Afghan war
Cameron said the decision reflects an increasing confidence in the Afghan National Security Forces.
"Our combat mission is drawing to a close, but our commitment to the Afghan people is long-term," said Defense Secretary Philip Hammond.
Since 2001, 433 British troops have died in Afghanistan.
CBS News producer Randall Joyce, in Kabul, says the British have been handing over territory for several years now -- first to U.S. Marines, who poured into their sector in the troubled Helmand Province as part of President Obama's surge strategy, and more recently to Afghan security forces.
So far, says Joyce, the Afghan's seem to be holding their line against the insurgents, but President Karzai's government in Kabul is facing criticism that it still hasn't established effective local governance in Helmand, and that's making Afghans increasingly nervous about how long their Army and police forces can maintain order without foreign backup.
The British took on one of the toughest challenges of the Afghan war, notes Joyce. Helmand was a hotbed of Taliban activity and, as a center of opium production, an important source of financing for the insurgency. Taliban commanders would love to take it back.
Joyce adds that the British withdrawal is set to be gradual compared to the now-complete pullout of French forces.
Last month, France ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, pulling hundreds of troops from a base in a volatile region northeast of Kabul and fulfilling promises to end its combat role on a faster track than other NATO allies.
France has lost 88 troops in Afghanistan since late 2001.