Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic visited the Croatian contingent in Afghanistan on Wednesday, in the run-up to the Christmas holidays, and on that occasion he met German Brigadier General Juergen Broetz who praised the Croatian contribution to NATO's mission in that Asian country, the defence ministry stated.

“The Croatian troops are doing a great job here and giving contribution in several segments: healthcare, military police and the command,” Brig. Gen. Juergen Broetz, the TAAC North Commander of NATO’s Resolute Support in Afghanistan, was quoted as saying.

He expressed gratitude to Croatia for its great contribution to this mission.

Krsticevic, who visited members of the 11th contingent of the Croatian Army in the Marmal camp, said that Croatian troops were recognised as professional highly-trained soldiers.

The Croatian delegation also laid a wreath for soldiers killed in Afghanistan, including Josip Briski, who died in an attack of Talibans in Kabul, and who was the first Croatian serviceman to die in this mission.

Currently, 110 Croatian soldiers are deployed in Afghanistan, and some of them are in the TAAC North, which stands for Train Advise Assist Command.

It focuses on training, advising and assisting (TAA) Afghan National Defense and Security Forces development in several key areas. The efforts taken by TAAC-North within the Resolute Support mission are part of the broader engagement of the international community in Afghanistan to ensure Afghanistan is never again a safe haven for terrorism. TAAC-North conducts the TAA mission with the 209th Afghan National Army Corps and the 217th (Pamir) Afghan National Army Corps (former 20th Division). Including TAA for the nine provincial police departments and other security forces.

Currently, approximately 2,000 Coalition Forces and 45,000 ANDSF Forces are operating in the area of responsibility (AOR) of TAAC-North.

NATO’s Resolute Support includes 17,000 soldiers from 39 members of the Alliance in Afghanistan.