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May 12, 2014

Observation Post Sterga 2 in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, which was opened in August 2013, was closed on May 10, 2014 marking an important phase in ending British combat operations in Afghanistan. All Nato troops will pull out of Afghanistan by December. AFP pic, May 12, 2014.A computer without a power cable, a spy camera with English instructions that no one can read, and water-logged accommodation life on the frontline can be a long series of setbacks and challenges for Afghan soldiers.

In the eastern district of Khogyani, the war against Taliban militants is a day-to-day struggle for control of fields and villages just outside Jalalabad, one of Afghanistan's biggest and most strategic cities.

At one post, six soldiers live in a flimsy wooden shack made of planks, plastic sheets and sandbags, on alert 24-hours a day for attack from the surrounding rebel-held mountains.

They dry their socks and clothes on a rope, and spend their days on guard duty, listening to radio messages and passing on information to other units in the area.

"Of course, we are proud of our job," Shapoor Ahmadzai, 27, told AFP. "We are here to serve our country, and we are hopeful and optimistic about the future.

"But this place is an absolute mess when it rains, water just comes into the room, so nobody can do his job, and we live in darkness when we don't have electricity."

Basic issues over equipment, living quarters, food supplies and vehicle maintenance are among the major problems facing the Afghan army as it fights a resilient enemy that controls swathes of the south and east of the country.

The 190,000 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) have largely taken over responsibility for the war against the Taliban after more than a decade in which well-equipped, well-trained Nato troops dominated the battlefield.

All 51,000 remaining Nato combat troops will pull out of the country by December.

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