German minister: Afghan Taliban capitalized on NATO withdrawal

Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan (dpa) - NATO‘s decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan rekindled Taliban attempts to bring the country "to its knees," Germany‘s defence minister said during a visit to an Afghan army camp Monday."We announced a relatively brisk withdrawal of the international alliance," Ursula von der Leyen said, referring to NATO‘s 2014 decision to pull out most troops after a 13-year combat mission."And in 2015, the Taliban tried everything to bring the Afghan government and the Afghan army to its knees," she said, while on a traditional holiday visit to German troops at Camp Shaheen military base.The camp is situated in Mazar-i-Sharif, where 1,500 troops from 21 NATO countries are stationed, most of them German.Before touching down in the northern city on Sunday night, the defence minister told reporters the "basic message" of her trip: "We are staying."The German military plans to increase its personnel in Afghanistan from 850 to 980, and extend its training missions for Afghan soldiers at the base in Mazar-i-Sharif through 2016.That is in line with NATO‘s announcement last week that its troop levels will remain largely unchanged through next year, despite earlier plans anticipating force numbers to be whittled down."I do not think we should make the same mistake as last year by setting rigid timelines independent of the situation," acknowledging that the country remains unstable in the face of the Taliban threat.