Pentagon: 18,000 more troops in Afghanistan by spring

WASHINGTON Feb 2 (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Tuesday it expected about 18,000 of the 30,000 additional U.S. troops authorized by President Barack Obama to arrive in Afghanistan by late spring, a slower pace than initially announced by the White House.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee that the Taliban has moved well beyond southern strongholds and now has a growing influence in most of Afghanistan's provinces.

(Reporting by Adam Entous; Editing by Paul Simao)