NATO to mark end of its Afghan war in Kabul ceremony

NATO will hold a ceremony in Kabul later Sunday formally ending its war in Afghanistan, officials said, after 13 years of conflict that has left the country in the grip of worsening insurgent violence. The event was arranged in secret due to the threat of Taliban strikes in the Afghan capital, which has been hit by repeated suicide bombings and gun attacks over recent years. On January 1, the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, which has suffered 3,485 military deaths since 2001, will be replaced by a NATO "training and support" mission.