New Zealand’s Special Air Service troops will return from Afghanistan in March next year, Prime Minister John Key has confirmed. The decision to end the deployment on schedule had been expected, although the government had kept open the possibility of leaving a small number of the 70 elite soldiers in Kabul.

“The SAS has achieved the job they were sent to do with Kabul’s Crisis Response Unit (CRU) and they have done that job to the very highest of standards,” Mr Key said on Thursday. “Tragically they have also paid the highest price with two of the SAS’s fine soldiers losing their lives in the course of this work.” he added.