The US and Britains military involvement in Afghanistan came to a symbolic end on Sunday. Operations in the country were officially ended, as they prepare to depart and hand over military bases to Afghan forces.

The Afghan army and police will now largely be left to deal with having to fight the Taliban, after the allies ended their 13-year campaign.

The US and the UK handed over their last bases to the Afghan forces, including Camp Leatherneck, which was the largest American base in Afghanistan. The British presented them with Camp Bastion, which was their headquarters during the conflict. Both military centers were located in the Helmand Province, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting during allied forces engagement.

The UKs Secretary of State for Defense Michael Fallon said, "It is with pride that we announce the end of UK combat operations in Helmand, having given Afghanistan the best possible chance of a stable future. Our Armed Forces tremendous sacrifice laid the foundations for a strong Afghan Security Force, set the security context that enabled the first democratic transition of power in the countrys history, and stopped it being a launch pad for terrorist attacks in the UK", he was quoted on the Ministry of Defenses (MOD) website.

The number of allied troops to stay in Afghanistan has been whittled down to 12,500, who will mainly stay in an advisory role to the Afghan security forces. Just under 10,000 will be US servicemen. Since June 2013, they have been responsible for 99 percent of security operations in the country, according to the MOD.