The US Army left the Bagram air base, the epicenter of its war against the Taliban and the perpetrators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a senior US official confirmed to our sister network NBC News on Friday.
The base, located an hour north of the capital Kabul, was handed over to the Afghan National Security and Defense Force in its entirety, sources told The Associated Press (AP) news agency, who were not authorized to speak. with the media.
The pullout is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500 to 3,500 US troops have left Afghanistan or are about to leave Afghanistan, almost two months before the date promised by the president, Joe Biden: 9/11.
At its peak, Bagram Air Base saw more than 100,000 American soldiers pass through its sprawling compound.
The top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Austin S Miller, told the AP that he "continues to retain all the capabilities and authorities to protect the forces."
Shortly after the announcement in mid-April that the United States was ending its "forever war," it became clear that the departure of American soldiers and their approximately 7,000 NATO allies would occur around April 4. July, the date the US celebrates its Independence Day.
Most of the NATO soldiers have already quietly left this week.
The United States has declined to say when the last soldier will leave Afghanistan, citing security reasons, but also because protection is being negotiated for Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, which is currently protected by Turkish and US soldiers.
This protection is currently covered by the Resolute Support Mission, the military mission that is currently coming to an end.
But until a new airport protection agreement is negotiated between Turkey and the Afghan government, and possibly the United States, such a mission appears to continue.
The United States will also have about 6,500 troops in Afghanistan to protect its sprawling embassy in the capital.
With information from AP.