US Closed 10 Bases in Afghanistan as Part of Withdrawal

U.S. service members walk off a helicopter on the runway at Camp Bost on September 11, 2017 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. (Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)

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The United States has closed at least 10 of its military bases in Afghanistan since reaching an agreement with the Taliban last February, as part of its ongoing withdrawal from the country, The Washington Post reports.

Officials from the U.S. and Afghanistan confirmed that the bases have closed as part of the withdrawal agreement, though they did so under the condition of anonymity, since the military has not signed off on commenting about base closures with the media, and several of those closures had not been publicly reported.

The newspaper notes that what happened to those bases is largely unknown. Some were given to Afghan forces, while others were vacated with the option of being reoccupied, possibly leaving some equipment that would be difficult to move behind.

“Little is known about what remains of those bases, many in Afghanistan’s most volatile provinces where U.S. support for Afghan operations has been critical in pushing back the Taliban,” the Post reads. “Some have been completely handed over to Afghan security forces. Others may have been vacated and left in place in a way in which they could be occupied again in the future if U.S. and Afghan officials consider it necessary. It is also unclear how much equipment — more difficult to move than people — is left at each of the closed installations.”

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