German military completes withdrawal from Afghanistan

German soldiers unload an NH90 transport helicopter from a military transport plane that arrived from Afghanistan at Leipzig Airport, Germany, May 18, 2021. /Getty

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the German troops base Camp Marmal in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, March 12, 2012. /Getty

Germany had the second largest contingent of troops after the United States in Afghanistan, with around 150,000 soldiers deployed over the past two decades. Fifty-nine German soldiers died in Afghanistan, 35 of them killed in combat or as a result of militant attacks.

Britain, Italy and Turkey also have a significant military presence in Afghanistan. Smaller contributors to the force, such as Denmark, Estonia and Spain, have already pulled out their troops.

The security situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating for several weeks. Fighting has surged since early May when the U.S. military began its final withdrawal of troops, with the Taliban claiming to have recently captured more than 100 of the over 400 districts across Afghanistan.

In early June, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan

called for a responsible and orderly withdrawal

of foreign troops from Afghanistan to avoid a deterioration in the security situation in the region or giving terrorist forces an opportunity to thrive.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)