Barack Obama to announce return of 34,000 US troops in a year, say sources

Washington: A person familiar with President Barack Obama's State of the Union address says he will announce that 34,000 U.S. troops will be home from Afghanistan one year from today.

That's about half the US troops currently in Afghanistan. The decision marks the next phase in Obama's plans to end the US-led war in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

The person who provided the information did so on condition of anonymity to discuss the drawdown before the president's announcement.