The Pentagon’s Central Command on Tuesday announced that the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan is more than 90% complete.

CentCom said it had officially handed over seven former US bases to the Afghan security forces and had evacuated the equivalent of nearly 1,000 C-17 air freighter loads of equipment from the country, ahead of the September deadline to complete the pullout, news agency AFP reported.

In a press release, CentCom said: “Since the President’s decision, the DoD has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 984 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and have turned nearly 17,074 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposition.

“The 17,074 pieces of equipment comprise almost entirely federal excess personal property. Most of this equipment is not defensive articles or considered to be major equipment,” the statement further read.

The White House earlier in the week announced the complete withdrawal of US forces from the war-weary Afghanistan after 20 years of battle. The US had first touched down in Afghanistan in 2001 after the deadly 9/11 attack.

US President Joe Biden had set a September 11 deadline for the final pullout but in an update White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that it would be completed by August end.

“The president has long felt… that the war in Afghanistan was not one that can be won militarily,” Psaki told reporters.

“The American and coalition forces have completely withdrawn from the base and henceforth the Afghan army forces will protect it and use it to combat terrorism,” Afghanistan defense ministry spokesman Fawad Aman earlier tweeted.

The exit of foreign forces from Bagram base means that Afghanistan is alone and has to defend itself against the terror of Taliban, an analyst had said.

Media reports suggest that the Pentagon will probably retain about 600 US troops in Afghanistan to guard its diplomatic compound in Kabul.

Residents of Bagram said security will only deteriorate with the exit of foreign forces.

Bagram was built by the United States for its Afghan ally during the Cold War in the 1950s as a bulwark against the Soviet Union in the north.

As of May 2021, there were about 9,500 foreign troops in Afghanistan, of which US troops made up the largest contingent of 2,500.

So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their contingents.