Kabul, July 2, (dpa/GNA) – All international troops have left Bagram airfield, the largest US military base in Afghanistan, as NATO troops prepare to finally depart the war-scarred nation.
The base, one hour’s drive to the north of the capital Kabul, has been a centre of US military operations for nearly the last two decades.
A spokesperson for the Afghan Defence Ministry, Fawad Aman, confirmed that the foreign forces had left Bagram on Thursday night and had handed it over to the Afghan forces.
“Afghan National and Defence Forces will protect the base and use it to combat terrorism,” Aman added.
There was no official information on where the US and coalition forces that left the airfield are now.
A US official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the top commander of the US military in Afghanistan General Austin Miller “still retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the force” that are likely present in the capital Kabul to protect the US embassy and the strategically important Kabul airport.
Reacting to the evacuation of the base, a Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told dpa that it was a “positive step” which could help the country reach stability and peace.
Retired Afghan general Aminullah Amarkhail told dpa on Friday that the withdrawal of the US forces from the base would mean that Afghan forces would no longer receive critical support from the air, even as they face an intensified Taliban offensive across the country.
The international troop withdrawal forms part of an agreement between the US and the Taliban, as a condition for the militants’ return to peace negotiations with the Afghan government.
US President Joe Biden announced that all US troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11. Other NATO countries contributing to the international forces are following suit.
There is speculation that the US forces will complete their withdrawal by the 4th of July, US Independence Day.
German forces fully withdrew from their main base in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan on Tuesday.
It is a particularly fragile moment for Afghanistan, which had seen decades of war even before the US-led invasion in 2001.
Taliban militants have intensified their offensive attacks and there is no progress on the peace talks between the militants and the government.
There are fears of a brewing civil war after anti-Taliban civilians started taking up arms across the country to fight back the militants.
GNA