The last US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces have left Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase, the centre of the war against militants for over 20 years, US officials say.
Bagram, an hour’s drive north of Kabul, was where the U.S. military coordinated its air war and logistical support for its entire Afghan mission. Bagram airbase was the epicentre of the war to remove Taliban terrorists and hunt down the al-Qaeda perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.
The pull-out could mean that the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan looms. The departure from Bagram Air Base brought an effective end to the longest war in U.S. history.The withdrawal however, comes as the main jihadist group, the Taliban, have advanced in many parts of Afghanistan.
According to American president Joe Biden, the United States forces will be gone by 11 September.
The 11 September deadline marks the date of the attacks on America in 2001, which killed about 3,000 people on American soil.
The attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda, an international jihadist group then based in Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban, who had been in control of the country since the 1990s. which made people to flee the country. A US-led coalition invaded Afghanistan later that year to defeat both groups.
As America is set to end its longest war in the country, it is leaving country’s security to the Afghan government. According to Reuters, an Afghan official said the base would be officially handed over to the government at a ceremony on Saturday.
About 2,500-3,500 US troops were thought to be still in Afghanistan until recently and when they depart, fewer than 1,000 American soldiers will remain. As of May, there were about 7,000 other coalition troops in Afghanistan but it is believed that most have now left, with Germany and Italy declaring their missions over on June 30. [BBC]
