German Chancellor Angela Merkel has made a previously unannounced trip to Afghanistan to visit with German troops serving on the NATO peacekeeping force there.
Ms. Merkel arrived Friday in northern Afghanistan, according to German officials. Her visit comes less than a week after a German soldier was killed in an insurgent attack in northern Afghanistan.
Germany has the third-largest international troop deployment in Afghanistan, after the United States and Britain. It currently has about 4,200 troops in the NATO International Security Assistance Force.