KABUL, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Tuesday arrived in Afghan capital of Kabul in an unannounced visit to hold talks with Afghan leaders and U.S. military officials, a source said.
"Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Afghanistan at around midday. He will meet with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and Afghan Defense Minister Abdullah Khan Habibi later on the day," a source told Xinhua but declined to be named.
The Pentagon chief will also meet with U.S. and NATO military commanders during his trip, he said.
Foreign dignitaries usually pay unannounced visit to militancy-hit Afghanistan and return to their home countries secretly due to security concerns.
The NATO and U.S. forces completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, after 13 years of military presence in the country.
Nearly 13,000 foreign forces, including some 9,800 U.S. troops, are currently stationed in Afghanistan for the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising and backing Afghan troops in the war on insurgents.
