AUSTRALIAN troops have begun their withdrawal from Afghanistan and millions of dollars worth of equipment, including heavily armed ASLAV fighting vehicles, is already on its way home.

The Australian Defence Force commander in the Middle East area of operations, Michael Crane, told The Australian the bulk of Australia's 1550 army, navy and air force personnel in Afghanistan was preparing to leave over the coming year and some had gone already, The Australian reports.

"What I'm saying to the guys up in Afghanistan is that the end is coming," Major General Crane said. "There's no doubt about that."

Australian troops were first deployed to Afghanistan in November 2001 as part of a US-led, multi-national force to oust the Taliban and hunt for al-Qaida leader Osama bin-Laden in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

Since then, 39 Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.

Read more on the Australian troop withdrawal from Afghanistan at The Australian

media_camera AFGHANISTAN: Engineers from the Second Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, conduct surveying checks at the new girls high school construction site in Tarin Kowt. Picture: Force Defence

Originally published as Aussie troops begin Afghan withdrawal