Dozens of looters moved to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan just hours after the last organization of U. S. troops left the base, informing local authorities.
Bagram, located 30 miles north of Kabul, the strategic center of the U. S. war in Afghanistan, which is about to end in the coming months after President Biden promised to pull all U. S. troops out of the country by Sept. 11.
The U. S. war in Afghanistan began 20 years ago and is america’s longest-running conflict: it killed 2,312 U. S. infantrymen and charged the military $816 billion.
But experts worry that Biden’s “visceral decision” to withdraw U. S. forces from Afghanistan could bring new chaos to the region, as evidenced by Friday morning’s looting.
Defense officials showed that all of the United States had left Bagram on Friday and said the entire air base had been transferred to the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces.
However, Darwaish Raufi, who is district administrator for the city of Bagram, told The Associated Press that “the Americans left without any coordination” and that the airfield gates were secured, prompting the looting.
Another official told the Stars reporter
The looters moved temporarily around four in the morning local time, entering several uninsured buildings, seizing plastics and metals, were able to fly for several hours before even though everything was driven out of the base through the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces, who eventually took control.
A witness told J. P. Lawrence, “People are used to looting. That’s why Afghanistan is being destroyed day by day. “
The incident is a sign of concern about the unrest that may follow the hasty withdrawal of U. S. troops.
Dozens of looters visited Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan early Thursday morning, just hours after the last organization of U. S. troops left the base without informing local authorities. Photo: Afghan National Army soldier on guard at base after effectively recovering on Friday
The once bustling base has now been abandoned by U. S. troops. In 2012, Bagram saw more than 100,000 U. S. and NATO troops pass through its vast complex. He is photographed strangely abandoned on Friday
Empty: For two decades, the ever-expanding air base was filled with U. S. troops. This week, the last U. S. infantry organization despite all that was left.
Ashiqullah, a resident of the open-air city of Bagram, said citizens stormed the base at four in the morning. He said it went on for hours, and saw other people pull out steel and plastic and promote them as scrap metal. “People are used to doing it. looting. That’s why Afghanistan is being destroyed day by day. “pic. twitter. com/BgQ7FqGFl1
The Taliban have introduced relentless offensives into Afghanistan for more than two months, engulfing dozens of districts and celebrating the U. S. withdrawal from Bagram Air Base.
Meanwhile, before this week, photographs showed the Taliban stealing trucks and Humvees from Afghan security forces that were once subsidized by U. S. forces.
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