Obama lauds end of Afghanistan mission

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama (R) greet US military personnel at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on Christmas Day in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii December 25, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

This year has been the deadliest in the war, with more than 4,000 Afghan soldiers and police killed during the past 12 months. The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 US military personnel.

Obama told a crowd of 420 people, including troops and their families, gathered in the US Marine base's Anderson Hall dining facility that Afghanistan is "not going to be a source of terrorist attacks again."

The president and first lady then spent time talking to the troops individually and taking pictures with families.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, visited wounded troops at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

The White House said the Obamas spent Christmas morning opening presents and singing carols and then spent the afternoon at a nearby beach.