By DPA
Kabul : German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung Wednesday ruled out withdrawal of his country's 3,000 troops from Afghanistan despite recent losses, saying this would deliver a success to the Taliban insurgency.
"That would be exactly what the Taliban are striving towards, so we must not go down this path," Jung said during a visit to the Afghan capital Kabul.
A return of the Taliban to power would furthermore transform the country into a "training centre for terrorism," he warned during his unannounced visit.
Three German troops died in a suicide bombing in May in the northern city of Kunduz where much of the German contingent is deployed.
While this brought to 21 the number of German soldiers killed since 2002, Jung stressed that such tactics must not be allowed to undermine public support for the mission.
The minister arrived in Kabul from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, where he had talks about joint efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the region.