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The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is the mission established by the UN Security Council in 2001 to secure parts of Afghanistan to allow the establishment of Hamid Karzai's new administration. The ISAF operates separately, but cooperatively, with the U.S. coalition operation in Afghanistan called "Operation Enduring Freedom". The mission of the ISAF has expanded to provide security for all of Afghanistan, and is presently made up of over 53,000 troops from 43 different nations. The recent push into Taliban strongholds has led to more frequent conflicts, and increased attacks against ISAF convoys and soldiers. Pictured here are ISAF soldiers throughout Afghanistan, many of them from Germany, courtesy of Reuters' embedded photographer Fabrizio Bensch - again it's impossible to portray every member nation in just a handful of photos, just see these as representative of soldiers from 43 countries, all undertaking the same tasks.
A German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter of the ISAF lands on a helipad near a camp in Fayzabad, north of Kabul, September 19, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A pair of ISAF soldiers stand on a hillside overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan on the night of January 11, 2008 (ISAF Photos)
German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF walk through the camp before leaving for a night mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A soldier from the German Bundeswehr army, 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF, adjusts his night vision goggles in the camp before leaving for a night mission in Kunduz, October 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF Patria XA-188 GVV armored personnel carrier passes local Afghans while patrol mission around Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan on June 9, 2008. (Richard Frigge/SHAPE photos)
An observer aboard a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter with the ISAF sits on the back door during a flight from Fayzabad to Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 24, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An Afghan boy holds his toy weapon as Belgian army soldiers of the ISAF patrol during a joint mission with German Bundeswehr army soldiers in Taloqan, west of Kunduz, Afghanistan on September 30, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the ISAF gather inside a shelter during a rocket attack against their base in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 3, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A cat named "Ebola" stretches among the German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the ISAF in Toloqan, west of Kunduz, Afghanistan on September 25, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A German Bundeswehr soldier with the ISAF sleeps inside a "Fuchs" armoured personnel carrier during a night mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 4, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter of the ISAF lands on a helipad near a camp in Fayzabad, north of Kabul, September 19, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A pair of ISAF soldiers stand on a hillside overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan on the night of January 11, 2008 (ISAF Photos)
German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF walk through the camp before leaving for a night mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A soldier from the German Bundeswehr army, 263rd paratroopers unit of the ISAF, adjusts his night vision goggles in the camp before leaving for a night mission in Kunduz, October 2, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An ISAF Patria XA-188 GVV armored personnel carrier passes local Afghans while patrol mission around Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan on June 9, 2008. (Richard Frigge/SHAPE photos)
An observer aboard a German Bundeswehr army CH-53 helicopter with the ISAF sits on the back door during a flight from Fayzabad to Kunduz, north of Kabul, Afghanistan on September 24, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
An Afghan boy holds his toy weapon as Belgian army soldiers of the ISAF patrol during a joint mission with German Bundeswehr army soldiers in Taloqan, west of Kunduz, Afghanistan on September 30, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the ISAF gather inside a shelter during a rocket attack against their base in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 3, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A cat named "Ebola" stretches among the German Bundeswehr army soldiers of the ISAF in Toloqan, west of Kunduz, Afghanistan on September 25, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
A German Bundeswehr soldier with the ISAF sleeps inside a "Fuchs" armoured personnel carrier during a night mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan on October 4, 2008. (REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch)
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