A flag-lowering ceremony on Monday in Kabul was a key milestone for Afghanistan as the US and NATO marked the end of their combat role in a country still gripped by insurgent violence.<br /><br /> The NATO-led mission formally comes to a close in two weeks time with a sharp reduction in Western forces. Remaining troops will train and support the Afghan police and army whose job it will be to tackle the Taliban threat.<br /><br /> In the wake of the Twin Towers attacks on September 11 2001, foreign forces moved into Afghanistan to topple the militant group. Since then nearly 3,500 overseas soldiers have died.<br /><br /> As international troops take a backseat, their Afghan counterparts and the Afghan people are bearing the brunt of the ongoing violence.<br /><br /> At least four civilians and a policeman were killed on Monday when Taliban fighters backed by a suicide bomber attacked a police headquarters in the southern province of Kandahar.
