U.S., NATO Formally End 13-year War In Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan, fought for 13 bloody years and still raging, came to a formal end Sunday with a quiet flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul that marked the transition of the fighting from U.S.-led combat troops to the country's own security forces, according to media reports. At the headquarters of the NATO mission, the green-and-white flag of the International Security Assistance Force was ceremonially rolled up and sheathed, and the flag of the new international mission called Resolute Support was hoisted, the Associated Press reported. Beginning Jan. 1, the new mission will provide training and support for Afghanistan's military, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 of the 13,500 members of the residual force. ISAF was set up after the U.S.-led invasion as an umbrella for the coalition of around 50 nations that provided troops, AP said ends with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according to an AP tally.