Afghan National Army

Grabar Kitarovic began her visit on Sunday to Afghanistan's capital Kabul, where she met Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.

"I am proud that Croatia, over these 12 years, has participated in the first combat mission of NATO, ISAF [International Security Assistance Force], and is now participating in Operation Determined Support," she said.

Afghan soldiers were responsible for firing mortars at a wedding party that killed 17 women and children, officials said Jan. 1, in a mistaken strike that overshadowed the transfer of nationwide security from NATO forces.
      

NATO will hold a ceremony in Kabul later Sunday formally ending its war in Afghanistan, officials said, after 13 years of conflict that have left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence.
     

President Barack Obama in a Christmas Day speech to US troops stationed in Hawaii hailed their "extraordinary dedication and sacrifices," as NATO prepares to wrap up its combat mission in Afghanistan.
     

British forces Oct. 26 handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan forces, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives.

The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck - the last U.S. Marine base in the country.

A U.S. general has been shot dead in Afghanistan, becoming the highest-ranking American officer to be killed since 9/11, in an insider attack that left more than a dozen wounded including a senior German officer.

Washington and Kabul have failed to keep track of hundreds of thousands of weapons provided to Afghanistan, raising the risk that some could end up in the hands of insurgents, a US audit said Monday.        

Explosions and gunfire rang out as the Taliban attacked Kabul airport July 17 in the militants' latest attempt to steal the initiative with the country in the grip of a presidential power struggle.