US Troops Stationed in Afghanistan Begin Withdrawal Operations on the 25th

[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] CNN reported on the 25th (local time) that the U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan have begun their withdrawal.

Scott Miller, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, held a press conference in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on the same day and stated, "The U.S. troops and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan have started local operations as part of the withdrawal process." He added that although the official withdrawal notification date will be May 1, related measures are already underway.

Commander Miller explained, "We will withdraw in an orderly manner," adding, "This means transferring our bases and equipment to the Afghan security forces." He also mentioned that most of the 18,000 local civilian support personnel will withdraw. These personnel have been responsible for security, logistics, and aircraft maintenance locally.

U.S. President Joe Biden officially announced the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan on the 14th. At that time, President Biden stated that the withdrawal would begin on May 1 and be completed before September 11.

The U.S. military, which was once reinforced up to 100,000 troops, has now been reduced to 2,500. NATO forces number about 7,000.

In 2001, the U.S. identified Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and demanded the Taliban hand him over. When the Taliban refused, the U.S. allied with partner countries to invade Afghanistan. Subsequently, they succeeded in establishing a pro-Western regime in Afghanistan, but the Taliban strongly resisted, leading to a prolonged conflict. The Taliban later launched a counterattack and are currently estimated to hold influence over more than half of the territory.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.