WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives on Thursday rejected an amendment which calls for accelerated withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

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In a close 204-215 vote, the House rejected the amendment that would have required the Pentagon to develop a plan for an "accelerated transition of military operations to Afghan authorities."

The measure was an amendment to the 690-billion-dollar National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and was sponsored by a group of bipartisan lawmakers.

The Obama administration planned to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan in July, with the goal of handing lead security responsibility to Afghan forces by the end of 2014.

The administration said earlier this year that it plans to start withdrawing only 5,000 of the 100,000 troops in Afghanistan by this summer, far less than many had hoped.