ABC News --
ABC's Jonathan Karl reports: The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit has just been told their time in Afghanistan is to be extended by 30 days, according to Marine spokesman Major Eric Dent.
The 2,200 Marines in the 24th MEU arrived in southern Afghanistan in March and had been due home in October. This extension will keep them in the war zone until mid-November.
This move comes after senior Pentagon officials -- including the Chairman of the Joint Staffs and the Secretary of Defense -- had said repeatedly that the Marines would not be extended.
When asked in early May whether he anticipated extending the Marines deployment in Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said:
"Well, I always hate to make categorical statements, but I...