KABUL - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Monday that the country's military training mission in Afghanistan may be completed before the 2014 target date.
Ms Gillard's speech to the Australian parliament raises the possibility that the country may begin withdrawing its troop within the next three years.

Her comments follow those made by the commander of Afghan troops in Uruzgan province, General Mohammad Zafar Khan, who said that the Afghan army can now secure the province and that the Australians can leave.

The Australian military is in charge of training and mentoring Afghan troops in Uruzgan.

"Three years is too much time for the Australians to stay here," General Khan said in an interview.

However, Ms Gillard told Parliament: "The timing to complete transition in Uruzgan is not yet decided. But given the progress we now see, it may well be complete before the end of 2014."

Ms Gillard added that Australian Special Forces may remain in Afghanistan after 2014 in a counter- terrorism role.

Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan, most of them based in Uruzgan province. It has lost 32 soldiers over the past decade.