German defence minister pays surprise visit to Afghanistan ahead of ISAF pullout

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere is in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit to the Mazar-i-Sharif base in the country's North. The aim of the visit is to prepare for the scheduled pullout of International Security Assistance Force that is to be cropped to some 12,000 troops by 2015, down from the 100,000 soldiers that are now serving with the ISAF in Afghanistan, Voice of Russia reported. There are currently about 4,100 German troops in the country. Their number is to be scaled down to 600-800 service people by 2015. It's de Maiziere's 12th trip to the country in almost 28 months as defense minister; he most recently visited in tandem with Chancellor Angela Merkel in May.