The US is planning to form the first 'local defense forces' similar to Iraq's Awakening Councils to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The first such forces would begin operating early next year in Wardak Province close to Kabul, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The province is an area where the resurgent Taliban had largely assumed control. Similar forces would be quickly established across the country if the move proved successful, the newspaper quoted unnamed senior US and Afghan officials as saying.
However, there was "deep unease" among many Afghans that Pashtun-dominated militias could get out of control, terrorize local population and turn against the government, said the newspaper report.
The US recently said it would be sending a further 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, nearly doubling its force there by next summer.
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