Washington, October 19 (RHC)-- Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have voiced support for President Barack Obama’s plan to keep U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of his term in 2017.

Obama had declared an official end to the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan last year, but last week announced he was halting the phased military withdrawal.

Speaking on CNN, Hillary Clinton backed Obama’s decision., saying she couldn't predict “where things will be in January of 2017,” but she supports the president's decision. And Clinton's rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders also declined to specify how many troops he would keep in Afghanistan if he were president, but said he thinks the U.S. needs "a certain nucleus of American troops present in Afghanistan.”