By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/nato-marks-end-combat-mission-afghanistan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter NATO marks end of combat mission in Afghanistan World Dec 28, 2014 3:36 PM EDT A small ceremony was held in Kabul on Sunday to mark the end of the 13-year United States-led NATO combat mission in Afghanistan. “Today marks the end of an era and beginning of a new one,” said U.S. General John Campbell commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), after taking down and rolling up the ISAF flag. “Today NATO completes its combat mission, a 13-year endeavor filled with significant achievements and tremendous sacrifice, especially by the thousands of coalition and Afghan army and police wounded…who gave so much to build a brighter future for this war-torn land,” Campbell said. The event was kept a secret until just before it began for fear of an insurgent attack. Staring Jan. 1, the Afghan army will be charged with providing security for the country. More than 13,000 NATO soldiers will remain in the area as part of an operation called Resolute Support, aimed at providing training and support to the Afghan military, the Associated Press reported. The White House released the following statement on Twitter: "Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending" pic.twitter.com/0nNdyMZzDJ — White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) December 28, 2014 The ISAF is confident that the 350,000-strong Afghan security force is prepared for the conflicts ahead, it said in a statement. The event came as deadly Taliban attacks were on the rise over the past year, claiming the lives of more than 3,200 Afghan civilians and 4,600 Afghan soldiers and police, Reuters reported. Roughly 3,500 foreign soldiers, among them about 2,200 Americans, have died since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Carey Reed Carey Reed Carey Reed assists in covering breaking and feature news for NewsHour Weekend's website. She also helps the NewsHour Weekend broadcast team in the production of the show. She is interested in the flourishing fields of data journalism and information visualization and recently graduated, with honors, from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. @careyereed
A small ceremony was held in Kabul on Sunday to mark the end of the 13-year United States-led NATO combat mission in Afghanistan. “Today marks the end of an era and beginning of a new one,” said U.S. General John Campbell commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), after taking down and rolling up the ISAF flag. “Today NATO completes its combat mission, a 13-year endeavor filled with significant achievements and tremendous sacrifice, especially by the thousands of coalition and Afghan army and police wounded…who gave so much to build a brighter future for this war-torn land,” Campbell said. The event was kept a secret until just before it began for fear of an insurgent attack. Staring Jan. 1, the Afghan army will be charged with providing security for the country. More than 13,000 NATO soldiers will remain in the area as part of an operation called Resolute Support, aimed at providing training and support to the Afghan military, the Associated Press reported. The White House released the following statement on Twitter: "Thanks to the extraordinary sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, our combat mission in Afghanistan is ending" pic.twitter.com/0nNdyMZzDJ — White House Archived (@ObamaWhiteHouse) December 28, 2014 The ISAF is confident that the 350,000-strong Afghan security force is prepared for the conflicts ahead, it said in a statement. The event came as deadly Taliban attacks were on the rise over the past year, claiming the lives of more than 3,200 Afghan civilians and 4,600 Afghan soldiers and police, Reuters reported. Roughly 3,500 foreign soldiers, among them about 2,200 Americans, have died since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now