KABUL - French President Francois Hollande defended pulling French combat troops out of Afghanistan early, saying, "The time has come for Afghan sovereignty." The newly elected Hollande, who made a surprise visit Friday to Afghanistan, said 2,000 troops would be withdrawn from the country by year's end, The Guardian reported.

France has about 3,500 military personnel in Afghanistan. The 1,500 who stay beyond the end of the year will carry out non-combat duties including pulling out military equipment and training local troops.

Hollande said "the mission of fighting terrorism and chasing out the Taliban is close to being accomplished" and spoke of a new era of civil cooperation between France and Afghanistan, The Daily Telegraph reported.

"The time has come for Afghan sovereignty," he told troops in the Kapisa province. "The terrorist threat that targeted our territory has not completely disappeared, but it has been partially suppressed."

Hollande's decision to pull the combat troops out a year earlier than originally planned -- and two years earlier than some allies in Afghanistan -- came despite pressure from NATO countries to keep the French troops in Afghanistan beyond year's end.

Hollande told the troops the withdrawal would be coordinated with allies and would be "orderly."

Speaking later at a joint news conference in Kabul with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Hollande said French aid would go toward a medical college, housing, energy, oil research and farming support in Afghanistan.

Hollande's surprise visit to Afghanistan came less than a week after the new leader announced at a NATO summit French troops would pull out of Afghanistan by Dec. 31, The New York Times reported.

Hollande's visit to Afghanistan was not announced in advance for security reasons, officials said. (UPI)