British royal family to attend Afghanistan service of commemoration

LONDON - British Queen Elizabeth II and many other members of the royal family will attend the Afghanistan service of commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral in London on March 13, Buckingham Palace announced Friday.

The queen, accompanied by her husband Prince Phillip, will attend the service of commemoration to mark the end of Britain's combat operations in Afghanistan.

Other royals to attend the service include Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Prince Richard.

The service will be led by the Dean of St Paul's Cathedral David Ison, with an address to be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

They will be joined by British Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, members of the British Armed Forces, veterans, and families of deceased personnel.

Personnel who served in Afghanistan will parade from St Paul's Cathedral through the City of London to Guildhall following the service.

"The service will pay tribute to members of the Armed Forces past and present who served on operations in Afghanistan, and all those in the UK who worked to make the country a safer more stable place," British Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement.

"It will also reflect on the 453 Servicemen and women who lost their lives during the campaign," it added.

Britain maintained a military presence in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014, when troops were deployed as part of the NATO response to the September 11 attacks in the United States.

The British effort moved to southern Afghanistan when Task Force Helmand was formed in April 2006 to tackle a growing insurgency in the region, according to the MoD.

In October last year, Britain ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, handing its military base Camp Bastion in the southern Helmand Province over to the Afghan National Army.