Afghan men arrived in the capital Kabul early on Wednesday after being deported from Germany, airport officials said.

The chartered flight landed at 6:50 a.m. (0220 GMT), the officials said.

It marked the 40th deportation flight from Germany to Afghanistan since December 2016.

Berlin has now returned a total of 1,104 failed asylum seekers to Afghanistan.

The deportations had been deeply controversial, with critics saying the war-torn country was too dangerous to send asylum seekers back to.

The U.S.-led withdrawal of international troops that started on May 1, had left the country in a state of uncertainty.

Almost daily attacks and an increase in military offensives by Taliban militants were taking a toll on civilians.

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The Islamic State militia was also active in the country.

In spite of on-and-off peace talks, the conflict between the Taliban and the Afghan Governments continued and the security situations deteriorating.

Afghanistan has been a battleground for four decades.