The Pentagon says the US withdrawal from Afghanistan is more than 30% – international

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan, which is expected to close on September 11, increased significantly last week from 30% to 44%, according to Pentcono’s weekly estimates released this Tuesday (1).

The U.S. military says more than 300 C-17 cargo planes have been withdrawn from the country since President Joe Biden ordered US troops to leave in April.

More than 13,000 pieces of equipment were handed over to the Pentagon for destruction.

These figures show a strong acceleration for the withdrawal, which officially began on May 1st. In a previous estimate, released on May 25, it announced the destruction of 160 load C-17s and 10,000 pieces, or 16% to 25% of the completed process.

The federal government has said it has handed over control of six facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

The U.S. military declined to comment further on the speed of the withdrawal and the deadline for “securing the security of operations”, but Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pointed out last week that the measures were “slightly advanced” in relation to planned projects.

The U.S. Department of Defense is expected to recall the last 2,500 troops and 16,000 civilian contractors before 9/11, the anniversary of the 2001 attacks that led to the U.S. invasion.

Afghan security sources told AFP on Tuesday that the U.S. military would return Baghram, located 50 kilometers northeast of its main military base, Kabul, to the Afghans on June 20.

However, the full withdrawal of US troops could be postponed due to the expulsion of Afghan translators who aided the coalition and feared for their lives after the withdrawal of foreign powers.

General Mark Millie, the chief of staff, said last week that plans were being made to expel the interpreters and their families, as well as other Afghans who had cooperated with the United States. But Biden has not yet given the green light to these measures.

More than 20,000 may be affected.