Cameron pulling 500 out of Afghanistan

LONDON, July 6 (UPI) -- Britain will withdraw 500 more troops from Afghanistan next year, Prime Minister David Cameron told Parliament Wednesday.

Cameron, following military advisers who warn the situation remains fragile, has decided to maintain troop levels in southern Helmand province through 2012, rather than follow President Barack Obama, who plans to withdraw 33,000 U.S. troops by next year.

But he said he is committed to ending the British combat role -- currently 9,500 troops -- by the close of 2014, The Guardian reported.

Cameron told members of Parliament the Afghan war is entering a "new phase" and "the country needs to know that there is an end point. ... This is right for the U.K. and it's right for Afghanistan too.

"It has given the Afghans a clear deadline against which to plan and has injected a sense of urgency into their efforts," he said.

"2014 is a deadline -- be in no doubt. This is a matter of judgment. It is my judgment that it is right. The British people and the British military deserve to have some certainty."