S. Korean troops pull out of Afghanistan despite US request

TOKYO, Dec 14 (KUNA) — South Korea withdrew all of its troops from Afghanistan Friday, ending its six-year military presence in the war-ravaged Islamic country as part of a US-led coalition force, local media reported.

About 200 South Korean troops returned home to much fanfare but also remembering the death of a comrade killed in an attack at a US military base in Bagram, some 80 km north of Kabul, in February, said Yonhap News Agency.


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Despite a US request, the Seoul government did not extend the stay of about 50 medics and 150 engineers in the central Asian state.

South Korea sent troops to Afghanistan in late 2001 after the US ousted the Taliban fundamental Islamic regime because the Taliban was linked to a group that carried out the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the US, the report said.

The units helped with rehabilitation efforts, such as medical services to about 259,000 people and construction at the US military base in Bagram.

In July, 23 South Korean church volunteers were kidnapped by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan. Two of them were executed, while the others were freed after more than 40 days of captivity. The comrade’s death and the kidnapping increased opposition to Seoul’s contribution to the US efforts to rehabilitate Afghanistan, the news agency said.
South Korea plans to continue its contribution to stabilize Afghanistan through a civilian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT), composed of 20 to 30 government officials, civilian medical staff and vocational training experts, it added.

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