NATO Holds Ceremony Closing Afghan Mission
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - NATO held a ceremony in Kabul formally ending its war in Afghanistan, officials said, after 13 years of conflict and gradual troop withdrawals that have left the country in the grip of worsening conflicts with armed groups.
The event was carried out on Sunday in secret due to the threat of Taliban strikes in the Afghan capital, which has been hit by repeated suicide bombings and gun attacks over recent years.
On January 1, the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission will be replaced by a NATO "training and support" mission.
"Resolute Support will serve as the bedrock of an enduring partnership" between NATO and Afghanistan, US General John Campbell, the ISAF commander, told an audience of Afghan and international military officers and officials, as well as diplomats and journalists.
He paid tribute to the international and Afghan troops who have died fighting in the conflict saying: "The road before us remains challenging but we will triumph".
The closing of NATO's combat mission comes at the end of the country's deadliest year during the war, which saw at least 4,600 Afghan soldiers and police killed and many other civilian deaths, Al Jazeera reported.
About 12,500 foreign troops staying in Afghanistan will not be involved in direct fighting, but will assist the Afghan army and police in the battle against the Taliban, who ruled from 1996 until 2001.
When numbers peaked in 2011, about 130,000 troops from 50 nations were part of the NATO military alliance.
