US completes over 90 per cent of its withdrawal from Afghanistan

In this file photo taken on July 2, 2009, US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade wait for helicopter transport as part of Operation Khanjar at Camp Dwyer in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Pic/AFP

The United States (US) has completed "more than 90 per cent" of its entire withdrawal from Afghanistan, informed the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement on Tuesday (local time). "The withdrawal process continues; US Central Command estimates that we have completed more than 90 per cent of the entire withdrawal process," said CENTCOM.

This comes in the backdrop of the rapid increase in violence in the country amid the Taliban's continuing stride in the country and the capture of dozens of districts throughout Afghanistan. "As of July 5, Department of Defence has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 984 C-17 aircraft- loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over nearly 17,074 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition," the release said.

Nearly two decades after the first American troops arrived in Bagram and helped take control of the field, the transfer of the field to the Afghan military was completed last week without much fanfare. As the Taliban have taken control of several districts across the country, US intelligence assessments have suggested the country's civilian government could fall to the terror group within months of US forces withdrawing.

Taliban fighters move into Badghis

Taliban militants entered Qala-e-Naw city, the capital of Afghanistan's western Badghis province on Wednesday as fighting continued, a top official said. According to the official, Taliban fighters entered the city after capturing police headquarters on Wednesday morning and fighting was going on for the control of Qala-e-Naw city, reports Xinhua news agency.

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