President Trump visits US troops in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving

President Donald Trump made an unannounced visit to US troops in Afghanistan - his first time in the country - for the Thanksgiving holiday.

During the brief appearance at Bagram Airfield, Mr Trump served turkey to soldiers, posed for photographs, and met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

In a speech to troops, Mr Trump said the US was in talks with the Taliban, which he said "wants to make a deal".

Mr Trump also said the US was "substantially" reducing troop numbers.

Mr Trump arrived at 20:30 local time (16:00 GMT) on Thursday and left before midnight on a trip that was shrouded in secrecy for security reasons. The White House confirmed that there was an arrangement for the president's Twitter account to post messages during the trip to prevent suspicions arising about his long silence.

Upon his arrival, Mr Trump was greeted by US Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen Mark Milley who, on Wednesday, said the chances of a successful outcome from peace talks were higher than before and could happen in the "near term".

The president, who travelled with a number of aides, then served turkey to troops, sat down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them before posing for photos.

President Ghani thanked the US troops who have made the "ultimate sacrifice" in Afghanistan, saying: "Afghan security forces are taking the lead now."