President Barack Obama, speaking early Wednesday in Afghanistan at the tail end of a surprise visit there, discussed how the war will end and promised a steady drawdown of U.S. troops.

Obama committed to pulling 23,000 troops out of the country by the end of summer and sticking to the 2014 deadline to turn security fully over to the Afghan government. He said that NATO will set a goal this month for Afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations next year.

"We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains. That will be the job of the Afghan people," the president said during a speech at Bagram Air Base.

In the speech, beamed back to prime-time evening audiences in US, the president said that at the upcoming Nato summit, to be held in Chicago, the alliance would "set a goal for Afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations across the country next year".

NATO has already committed to withdrawing from combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

"I will not keep Americans in harm's way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security," Obama said. "But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly."

His unannounced trip was Obama's third visit to Afghanistan since taking office. It coincided with the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan, and comes as Obama is fighting for re-election.

Hours after Obama left the country, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force reported a loud explosion in the capital, Kabul.

At least seven people died in the attack.

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