German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has visited German troops in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif on Sunday. "The basic message must be: We're staying," von der Leyen said upon her arrival. Defense minister's visit comes after Berlin's recent decision to enlarge its military deployment in the war-torn country. Germany is to increase its personnel in Afghanistan from 850 to 980 and extend its training missions for Afghan soldiers through 2016. Last week, NATO announced that its troop levels in Afghanistan will remain largely unchanged through next year, despite earlier plans to reduce it. The German military had up to 5,350 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the 13-year combat mission.