Britain closes military headquarters in Afghanistan

Britain's military headquarters in Helmand province of southern Afghanistan has been disbanded after eight years of frontline operations, the British defence ministry announced Wednesday.

As the latest move to withdraw British operations in Afghanistan, the functions of the British-led military headquarters Task Force Helmand have been subsumed into the wider US-led Regional Command (South West), Xinhua reported citing a ministry statement.

The disbandment marks the end of the 16th Task Force Helmand operation for the British-led coalition task force, which comprised soldiers from the Danish, Estonian, Tongan, Jordanian and Bosnian armed forces.

As part of the planned withdrawal of British forces in Afghanistan, the Task Force Helmand was relocated from Lashkar Gah city, capital of Helmand province, to the NATO-led coalition base Camp Bastion last year.

The control of Task Force Helmand's area of operations has been handed over completely now. The role for the task force has changed from combat operations to advising the Afghan National Security Forces, the ministry said.

After the disbandment, British troops will remain in Camp Bastion throughout 2014, working in the coalition force under the Regional Command (South West) or supporting the redeployment of equipment back to Britain.

The number of British service personnel in Afghanistan will continue to drop as the operation draws to a close and the Afghan National Security Forces were preparing to stand alone without the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) support, the ministry said.

Britain plans to withdraw most of its forces by the end of 2014.