Military of Afghanistan

The Afghan National Army will participate for the first time in Efes 2020, one of Turkey's biggest military exercises, an official statement said on Dec. 21.

According to the Ministry of Defense in Kabul, the decision was made during Deputy Minister Munera Yosufzada's trip to Ankara where she met her Turkish counterpart Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu.

The Army has released an image taken by a combat photographer moments before she was killed in an explosion during a 2013 live-fire training exercise in eastern 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.

The Bulgarian Army will get 10 armorued personnel vehicles Commando Select made by the US company Textron Systems, reports the Sega daily.

They cost USD 15.28 M and are part of the US programme Foreign Military Sales - a form of security assistance authorized by the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).

As of December 31, 2014, Bulgaria will terminate its participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation in Afghanistan, BGNES news agency reports.

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.