Ground Report | New Delhi: Afghanistan: 90 percent withdrawal; A Pentagon statement said that "about 1,000 C-17 cargo aircraft carrying military equipment have departed from Afghanistan. And much military equipment has been handed over to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposal."
The Pentagon's announcement comes months after US President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan by September 11. Other NATO members are also rapidly withdrawing their troops from Afghanistan with the coordination of the US.
Germany has withdrawn all its troops from Afghanistan. A German diplomat said on Tuesday that it has closed its consulate in northern Afghanistan's Mazar-e-Sharif.
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Afghanistan: 90 percent withdrawal
Last week all US and NATO forces evacuated Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan's largest military airport. Bagram Air Base is the largest military airport in Afghanistan. It was built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Thousands of American and NATO soldiers were stationed in the war-torn country during US military operations.
Afghan officials have claimed that the US military left the base without informing them and appointing a new Afghan commander for the base. This came to light more than two hours after American troops left. The base also houses a prison where thousands of Taliban and other prisoners have been held for years.
Earlier, Afghan commander General Mir Asad Kohistani had said that American soldiers left Bagram Air Base by turning off the lights in the dark of night. Afghan officials also came to know about this two hours later.
With the withdrawal of foreign troops, the Taliban have captured several districts in northern Afghanistan and other parts of the country after fighting government forces.
Afghan security forces have resolved to stop the Taliban from moving forward. Afghan security forces have recently pledged to retake Taliban-held districts.
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Soldiers fleeing for fear of Taliban
Afghanistan's National Security Adviser Hamdulla Mohib told reporters on Tuesday, "This is war, this is pressure. Sometimes the situation is favorable for us, but sometimes it is not favorable for us, but we protect the Afghan people." will continue to do so."
"We are committed to take back all the districts," he said.
Thousands of Afghan soldiers fled to neighboring Tajikistan on Monday in fierce fighting with the Taliban. However, the government says that the soldiers are now returning to the war. The Taliban claim that it has regained control of large parts of northern Afghanistan by driving out the army.
Meanwhile, Tajikistan has deployed 20,000 troops to secure its border with Afghanistan.
The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to fight Al Qaeda. The US blamed Al Qaeda for the 9/11 attacks. After the invasion of Afghanistan, the US expelled the Taliban and began training Afghan security forces and police to defend the country.
Some experts say that the US spent 20 trillion dollars during this 20-year war and 2,312 of its soldiers were killed.
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