03 July,2021 05:48 AM IST | Kabul | Agencies
A US military air force lands at a US military base in Bagram, some 50 km north of Kabul on July 1. Pic/AFP
After nearly 20 years, the US military left Bagram Airfield, the epicentre of its war to oust the Taliban and hunt down the al-Qaida perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America, two US officials said Friday.
The airfield was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, they said on condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to release the information to the media.
One of the officials also said the US top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S Miller, âstill retains all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces.'
The withdrawal from Bagram Airfield is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 US troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure, months ahead of President Joe Biden's promise that they would be gone by Sept 11.
It was clear soon after the mid-April announcement that the US was ending its ¿forever war,¿ that the departure of US soldiers and their estimated 7,000 NATO allies would be nearer to July 4, when America celebrates its Independence Day.
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Most NATO soldiers have already quietly exited as of this week. Announcements from several countries analyzed by The Associated Press show that a majority of European troops has now left with little ceremony - a stark contrast to the dramatic and public show of force and unity when NATO allies lined up to back the US invasion in 2001.
The US has refused to say when the last US soldier would leave Afghanistan, citing security concerns, but also the protection of Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport is still being negotiated.
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