German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Afghan capital Kabul on an unannounced visit to the war-torn country on Saturday and has met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The German embassy has confirmed Merkel's arrival, but offered no details.
This is Merkel's first visit to Afghanistan, where German currently has deployed around 3,000 soldiers for fighting militants and assisting in the reconstruction, most of them in relatively peaceful northern part of the country.
The German parliament last month has extended the country's military mission in Afghanistan for one more year.
Two German aid workers were kidnapped by the Taliban militants in July in central Afghanistan's Wardak province, of whom, one was killed and another one later got released in October.
This year Afghanistan witnessed the deadliest period since 2001 as militancy-related violence and conflicts have claimed the lives of over 5,400 people since January 2007.
The Taliban, after being toppled by the U.S. invasion in late 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, has waged a years-long insurgency against the Afghan administration and international troops
Source:Xinhua
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