how many canadian soldiers are in afghanistan right now
Canada's role in the War in Afghanistan Canada's role in the Afghanistan War began in late 2001. Canada sent its first element of Canadian soldiers secretly in October 2001 from Joint Task Force 2,[1] and the first contingents of regular Canadian troops arrived in Afghanistan in January–February 2002. Canada took on a larger role starting in 2006 after the Canadian troops were redeployed to Kandahar province. There were 2,500 Canadian Forces (CF) personnel in Afghanistan and 1,200 comprised the combat battle group.[2] At the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that an undisclosed number of Canadian soldiers would remain in the country to help train and mentor the Afghan National Army until 12 March 2014 (though Canadian troops ended their combat role there in 2011).
Afghanistan Afghanistan (/æfˈɡænɪstæn/ ( listen); Pashto/Dari: افغانستان‎, Pashto: Afġānistān [avɣɒnisˈtɒn, abɣɒnisˈtɒn],[9] Dari: Afġānestān [avɣɒnesˈtɒn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia.[10][11] The country has a population of 35 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and China in the far northeast - it also borders Gilgit-Baltistan in this region which is claimed by India. Its territory covers 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi), making it the 41st largest country in the world.