90% US troops withdrawn from Afghanistan; rest to be airlifted ere deadline, says Pentagon

The Pentagon's Central Command on Tuesday has announced that the United States has withdrawn almost 90 percent of its troops from Afghanistan. President Joe Biden had instructed the Pentagon to complete the military withdrawal by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States, where he had said it’s time to end America’s longest war that killed 2,200 U.S. troops and 38,000 Afghan civilians, with a cost as much as $1 trillion.

U.S. military has vacated its biggest airfield in Afghanistan

According to CentCom (United States Central Command), it had handed over seven former US bases to Afghanistan. Also, it had evacuated nearly 1,000 C-17 air freighter loads of equipment from the country. Earlier on July 2, it had handed over the sprawling Bagram airbase-- which is considered as the main centre of US military operations in Afghanistan-- for the past two decades of conflict.

U.S. is still working on agreements to base counterterrorism forces

Subsequently, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, "We expect it to be handover the complete role of the US troops to the Afghanistan security forces by August." However, it is considered the withdrawal comes with many uncertainties as a resurgent Taliban captures ground and fears mount that the country could soon fall into civil war. The U.S. is still working on agreements to base counterterrorism forces in the region and evacuate thousands of interpreters and other Afghans who helped the American war effort.

CIA and other U.S. agencies "retain a suite of capabilities" to monitor and stop threats

US CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) Director William Burns testified in April that fighters from al-Qaida and the Islamic State group are still operating in Afghanistan and 'remain intent on recovering the ability to attack U.S. targets.' "When the time comes for the U.S. military to withdraw, the U.S. government’s ability to collect and act on threats will diminish. That’s simply a fact," added Burns. He maintained that the CIA and other U.S. agencies "retain a suite of capabilities" to monitor and stop threats.

What's next?

Miller, who already is the longest-serving commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the 20 years of warfare, will remain in command for a couple of weeks' longer but was not more specific. On July 2, Miller met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on and the duo discussed continued U.S. assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan. It is also expected to keep at least 650 US military personnel in Afghanistan in order to protect the US embassy and diplomats.

(With inputs from AP)