UK to Begin Pullout of Troops From Afghanistan by May 1

British soldiers are pictured at the scene of a suicide attack on a European Union police vehicle along the Kabul-Jalalabad road in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 5, 2015. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

Britain will begin the drawdown of its military presence in Afghanistan by May 1 in coordination with its NATO allies, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

The British military presence in Afghanistan began in 2001 as part of a NATO operation in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.