U.S. Withdraws Troops as Afghan Force Show Splits

GARDEZ/BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The United States unexpectedly announced Sunday it was pulling 400 troops out of a battle against al Qaeda rebels near Gardez as a major split emerged among Afghan forces involved in the fighting.

In a series of dramatic, rapid-fire developments in the biggest battle of the five-month-old Afghan campaign, a U.S. military spokesman said 400 of 1,200 troops in the area were being withdrawn as part of a repositioning exercise.

"We are repositioning," said Major Brian Hilferty. "Operation Anaconda continues," he said, referring to the code name for the eight-day-old offensive that has cost eight U.S. lives since it began just over a week ago.