“All coalition forces have left Bagram,” a US Army official told the AFP news agency on Friday. The move indicates that the full withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan is imminent.
When exactly the last US and NATO soldiers left Bagram, the US Army representative, who wanted to remain anonymous, did not say. Even at the time when the US Army officially plans to hand over the air force base to the Afghan security forces, he did not comment. Austria has already withdrawn its few armed forces from Afghanistan.
Bagram is the largest US and NATO military base in Afghanistan. Up to 30,000 troops were temporarily stationed at the base 50 kilometers from the capital Kabul. There is also a prison on site where Taliban fighters and Islamist extremists were held.
US President Joe Biden has announced that all troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by September 11th – the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the USA. The 9/11 attacks triggered the US military invasion of Afghanistan.
The US and its NATO allies began withdrawing troops at the end of April. Several military bases have already been handed over to the Afghan army. However, violence in Afghanistan has increased sharply in the past few weeks. The peace talks between the radical Islamic Taliban and the Afghan government are not making progress. Observers warn that the security situation in the country could worsen after the complete withdrawal of NATO troops.
