US completes more than 90% of its military withdrawal from Afghanistan

The withdrawal of US military forces in Afghanistan has been more than 90% complete, the Pentagon’s Central Command (Centcom) announced on Tuesday.

According to the authority, control of seven US bases has already been officially handed over to the Afghan security forces and the equivalent of almost 1,000 loads of C-17 aircraft has been removed in equipment before the final withdrawal period set for September.

On Friday, the sprawling Bagram airbase north of Kabul, the main center of US military operations in the country for most of the two decades of conflict, was handed over.

The announcement underscored that most of the withdrawal process for US military and civilian personnel ordered by Democratic President Joe Biden in April was completed.

At the time of Biden’s order, there were officially 2,500 American soldiers and 16,000 private contractors.

There were also reportedly about 1,000 US special forces personnel operating in Afghanistan at the time and they were also not included in the official count.

While Biden had set a deadline for September – the 20th anniversary of the Afghanistan-based Al Qaida attack on United States that sparked the US invasion of the country – the Pentagon has moved quickly to reduce its presence to a minimum this month.

“We expect it to be finished (the process) by the end of August,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said after Bagram’s handover.

It is expected that United States will keep at least 650 military personnel in the country to protect the US embassy and diplomats.