Prime Minister Tony Abbot paid a surprise visit to Australian troops, under high security, at the Tarin Kot Military Base in Afghanistan yesterday to mark the ‘ending' of Australia's mission in Afghanistan. He announced that the ADF mission in Uruzgan will be complete by year-end and the majority of Australian troops will return home, with around 300 to remain in Kandahar and Kabul in non-combative roles. Addressing the troops he said, "Australia's longest war is ending, not with victory, not with defeat, but with, we hope, an Afghanistan that is better for our presence here."