Ukraine in Arabic | NATO completely ends it’s mission in Afghanistan
KYIV/Ukraine in Arabic/ The U.S. and NATO ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan on Monday, 13 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government.
The alliance's role will shift to a mainly training and support mission for the Afghan army from 1 January.
Speaking during the ceremony, US General John Campbell, commander of NATO's international security assistance force (Isaf), paid tribute to his troops.
"This country is safer and more prosperous than ever," he said, according to the Reuters news agency. "The insurgents have been beaten back and the Afghan National Security Forces are carrying the fight to the enemy."
Gen Campbell also described what he saw as a bright future for Afghanistan, which until the 2001 invasion had been led by the fundamentalist Taliban regime.
At its peak, the US-led
But from 1 January, NATO chiefs say they intend to maintain a reduced force of around 13,000 soldiers.
The remaining forces will help train the Afghan national army, which is currently spearheading the fight against Taliban insurgents.
Despite the official end to Isaf's combat role, violence persists across much of the country.
This year has been the bloodiest in Afghanistan since 2001, with at least 4,600 members of the Afghan security forces dying in the fight against the Taliban.
The flag-lowering ceremony was the first of two that will draw a formal close to Isaf's role by the end of December.
Nearly 3,500 foreign troops have been killed since the beginning of the mission.
