Georgian army unit returns from Afghanistan

Another unit of the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF) has successfully ended a seven month deployment within a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan.

A United States Air Force plane brought 130 soldiers of the Bravo Company of the III Infantry Brigade safely back to Georgia's capital Tbilisi on Saturday, July 23.

The company-sized unit were welcomed by the Deputy Minister of Defence of Georgia Besik Loladze, along with Deputy Chief of General Staff of the GAF Lieutenant Colonel Nikoloz Agladze and other high ranking military commanders.

The 130 soldiers spent seven months serving in Afghanistan. Photo from the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.

I would like to extend my gratitude to each and every service member. We are proud of these soldiers. I congratulate them with the safe return to their homeland and wish them further success," Loladze told reporters following the ceremony.

The Deputy Minister of Defence added the unit had "brilliantly executed" its responsibilities within the mission.

The company-sized unit spent seven months serving within the German contingent in Afghanistan's third largest city Mazar-i-Sharif.

The soldiers were welcomed by high ranking military commanders of the Georgian Armed Forces. Photo from the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.

The unit was tasked with serving as the Quick Reaction Force at the Camp Marmal military base of the German armed forces, responding to security challenges and emergency situations facing their allies in the area of operation.

The returning company was replaced in Afghanistan by the Reconnaissance Company of the II Infantry Brigade of the GAF.

Georgian troops will continue to participate in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan after the alliance approved plans on extending the Resolute Support Mission beyond 2016 at its recent Warsaw Summit in Poland.