The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics started on Tuesday after a year's delay due to the Covid pandemic.
The games come amidst the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have seized control of the country as thousands flee for their lives.
After the 20-year long war, US and allied troops are retreating from Afghanistan, with capital Kabul descending into chaos.
UK troops were first sent to Afghanistan in October 2001 under the orders of then-Prime minister Tony Blair.
Over the course of the war, 457 UK troops died in Afghanistan, with many more critically injured.
Of those who suffered life altering injuries serving in Afghanistan, three are competing for ParalympicsGB in this year's Tokyo games.
Here's what you need to know about the Afghanistan veterans competing for ParalympicsGB.
Who are the Afghanistan veterans competing for ParalympicsGB?
Three Paralympians who served and were injured in Afghanistan are competing for ParalympicsGB in this year's games.
Jaco Van Gass
First up is Jaco Van Gass, who in his first Paralympics claimed gold in the velodrome for GB on Thursday morning in the C3 individual pursuit.
Van Gass was hit by a Rocket Propelled Grenade during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2009.
In the explosion, he lost his left arm at the elbow, as well as suffering a collapsed left lung, shrapnel wounds to his left side, punctured internal organs, blast wounds to upper thigh, a broken tibia and a fractured knee.
Despite the physical and mental trauma, Van Gass has not been stopped, adding his gold medal to a long list of achievements including his stance as a highly accomplished downhill skier, his multiple martahon runs and an unsupported trek to the North Pole.
His Paralympics debut saw him not only top the podium but break the world record by an astonishing 9-seconds.
Micky Yule
Micky Yule will compete in the Paralympic -80kg powerlifting, with the final due to take place on 10am (UK time) on Saturday.
Born in Edinburgh, Yule joined the army aged 17 in 1995 and was eventually posted to Afghanistan where he served as a sergeant.
In 2010, whilst on patrol in the country, he stood on an IED (improvised explosive device).
The explosion led to Yule losing both his legs, but he credits his colleagues with saving his life.
Tokyo is Yule's second Paralympics at the age of 42, having competed in Rio 5 years earlier, just six years after his injury.
Stuart Robinson
Stuart Robinson competes in ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby team, with the teams currently contesting the pool stages to progress to the next round.
It was on his fourth tour in Afghanistan in 2013 that Robinson was critically injured by an IED.
He lost both his legs in the roadside bomb explosion which blew up his vehicle and was placed in an induced coma for 8-weeks.
This is Robinson's first Paralympic Games, having first taken up wheelchair rugby in 2014 after watching it before his accident during London 2012.
Great Britain won their first match against Canada on Wednesday and face New Zealand on Thursday.
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