Zarmina Ahmadi, 22, a female soldier from the Afghan National Army (ANA) looks out from a bus window at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
Soldiers of the 209th corp of the Afghan army (ANA) roll up the red carpet after a visit by German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (not pictured) at Camp Shaheen outside Mazar-i-Sharif July 23, 2014.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier takes a nap before an early morning joint patrol with U.S. soldiers from 3/1 AD Task Force Bulldog in a village in Kherwar district in Logar province, eastern Afghanistan, May 22, 2012.
Female Afghan soldiers Shreen Yawari, 24 (L), Zarmina Ahmadi, 22 (2nd L), Fatima Alimi, 21 (3nd L), and Zahra Sultani, 20 (R), rest after shooting exercises at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
An Afghan National Army soldier, with a freshly picked rose attached to his weapon, returns from a mission to hunt for weapons caches in the Taliban stronghold of Panjwaii town, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, November 12, 2007.
Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers arrive after a blast near the Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, Afghanistan January 13, 2016. Afghan security forces exchanged fire with gunmen barricaded in a house near the Pakistan consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Wednesday after a suicide bomber blew himself up, officials said.
A member of the Afghan Special Forces keeps a watch as others search a house during a combat mission against Taliban, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 12, 2021.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier walks through shallow water of Helmand river during a break in a joint patrol with U.S. Marines along Helman river near the Camp Gorgak in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, July 3, 2011.
Afghan Special Forces inspect inside a cave which was used by suspected Islamic State militants at the site where a MOAB, or ''mother of all bombs'', struck the Achin district of the eastern province of Nangarhar, Afghanistan April 23, 2017.
An Afghan National Army soldier walks during a mission in the Zhary district in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan April 18, 2012.
A U.S. Marine watches Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers during a training in Helmand province, Afghanistan, July 5, 2017.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier keeps watch at the site of a suicide attack in Kandahar August 16, 2013.
Afghan army Special Forces take part in a military exercise in Rishkhur district outside Kabul, Afghanistan February 25, 2017.
Members of Afghan Special Forces travelling in a humvee destroyed during heavy clashes with Taliban take cover during the rescue mission of a policeman besieged at a check post, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, July 13, 2021.
An Afghan national army soldier fires a rocket propelled grenade during a fire fight between Taliban fighters and Afghan and U.S. soldiers from Alpha company, 2nd battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment from Combat Outpost Pirtle King in Kunar province, Afghanistan, July 18, 2011.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier keeps watch as a young girl stands in front of her house in Dand Ghori district of Baghlan province, Afghanistan March 15, 2016.
Mehrullah Safi, 28, a disabled Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier, sits with his children at their house in Jalalabad province, Afghanistan. August 2, 2017.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy is seen at Nahr-e- Kanjak village at the Adraskan district of Herat Province April 3, 2014. The Afghan presidential elections will be held on April 5.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier is seen through damaged glass as he keeps watch at the Forward Base in Nari district near the army outpost in Kunar province, February 24, 2014.
Afghan national army soldier sleeps outdoors during sunrise at their compound inside at Panjwai district in Kandahar, May 31, 2009.
Female soldiers Mohazama Najebi, 18 (R), and Sahar Ibrahimi, 25 (L), from the Afghan National Army (ANA) pose for a picture after shooting exercises at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail
Afghan National Army (ANA) female officers watch a training exercise at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, October 8, 2013.
An Afghan security forces member keeps watch as he sits in an army vehicle in Bagram U.S. air base, after American troops vacated it, in Parwan province, Afghanistan July 5, 2021.
An Afghan National Army soldier mans his post at a tower of Forward Operating Base Bostick in Kunar province, eastern Afghanistan March 20, 2012.
An Afghan National Army soldier stands guard at the gate of Bagram U.S. air base, on the day the last of American troops vacated it, Parwan province, Afghanistan July 2, 2021.
A member of the Afghan National Army provides security with a soldier from the U.S. Army's Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment during a patrol near Command Outpost AJK (short for Azim-Jan-Kariz, a near-by village) in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, January 31, 2013.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) officer takes part in a training exercise at the Kabul Military Training Centre in Afghanistan October 7, 2015.
Afghan police special forces take part in a military exercise in Logar province, Afghanistan November 30, 2017.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier keeps watch at a checkpost in Logar province, Afghanistan February 16, 2016. NATO advisers want Afghan soldiers to spend less time manning checkpoints and more taking the fight to Taliban militants, a key tactical shift the coalition hopes will enable local forces to quell a rising insurgency.
A photographer (C) takes pictures as newly graduated Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers attend their graduation ceremony at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul May 23, 2013.
Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers take part in a training exercise at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan January 27, 2019.
A member of the Afghan National Police prays at sunset before the detonation of confiscated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near Combat Outpost Hutal in Maiwand District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, January 21, 2013.
A member of Afghanistan's Special Forces unit jumps from a wall during patrol in Pandola village near the site of a U.S. bombing in the Achin district of Nangarhar, eastern Afghanistan, April 14, 2017.
An Afghan National Army soldier keeps watch from a check post at Mahipar, on Jalalabad-Kabul highway Afghanistan July 8, 2021.
An Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier inspects passengers at a checkpoint in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan February 23, 2020.
In defense of Afghanistan Images of the fallen military