German Chancellor Angela Merkel is on a one-day trip to northern Afghanistan, to visit German troops serving in the NATO-led security force.

Merkel arrived in Mazar-e-Sharif on Monday for an unannounced visit. She originally planned to also visit Kunduz, another northern area where German troops are based, but bad weather halted flights. The chancellor last visited Afghanistan in December 2010, meeting soldiers just before Christmas.

Germany has some 4,800 troops in northern Afghanistan. By the end of January 2011, Germany plans to get numbers down to 4,400. It’s part of plans from the U.S. and other allies to withdraw combat troops and hand over responsibility for security to Afghan authorities by the end of 2014.