Thousands of Afghans have been brought to the UK since British troops began evacuating Kabul following the Taliban's takeover. Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have promised they will be helped to get used to their new lives.
In a video posted on Twitter on Sunday morning, Boris Johnson said British troops and officials had "worked around the clock to a remorseless deadline in harrowing conditions".
He added: "They have expended all the patience and care and thought they possess to help people in fear for their lives.
"They've seen at first hand barbaric terrorist attacks on the queues of people they were trying to comfort, as well as on our American friends.
"They didn't flinch. They kept calm. They got on with the job."
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The end of Operation Pitting is the "culmination of a mission unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes", the PM said.
Earlier, the prime minister wrote to the armed forces, saying they "should feel immense pride" for what they have done, including previous efforts as part of Britain's 20-year Afghan campaign.
"Your efforts in difficult and hostile circumstances have seen the evacuation of thousands of British nationals alongside Afghans who worked with us, and who will now start new lives in the UK," he said.
"I know that the events of recent weeks will have been hard for the armed forces community to watch unfold.
"Over the last two decades, many thousands of you dedicated years of your lives to service in Afghanistan, often in the most arduous conditions. In particular, I realise that this will be an especially difficult time for the friends and loved ones of the 457 service personnel who laid down their lives.
"So I want to take this opportunity to offer my profound thanks for everything you did and to say without hesitation that you should take the greatest pride in your achievements."
The government has come under heavy criticism from Afghan veterans on its own backbenches since the Taliban completed its takeover of Kabul earlier this month.
Some have questioned whether the collapse of the Afghan government rendered the efforts worthless, with question marks over whether human rights gains since 2001 - notably for women and girls - will now be reversed.
But a defiant PM said: "Our purpose in Afghanistan was simple - to protect the United Kingdom from harm - and you succeeded in that central mission.
"In the last 20 years, not a single terrorist attack has been launched from Afghan soil against the UK or any other Western country."
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