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NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers attend a ceremony marking the end of ISAF's combat mission in Afghanistan at ISAF headquarters in Kabul on December 28, 2014. NATO formally ended its war in Afghanistan on December 28, holding a low-key ceremony in Kabul after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.The event was arranged 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. “Together... we have lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future”, NATO commander US General John Campbell told assembled soldiers. “You've made Afghanistan stronger and our countries safer”. On January 1, the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, which has suffered 3,485 military deaths since 2001, will be replaced by a NATO “training and support” mission. (Photo by Shah Marai/AFP Photo)
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