US President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq with the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying military equipment had been left behind in Afghanistan, while US forces leaving Iraq took their equipment with them.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump referred to the final departure of US-led coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, which marked the end of the US military mission against Daesh in Iraq.

“I said, take a little longer. Take everyone. We left all of the equipment, if you remember, in Afghanistan. Everything was left behind,” Trump said.

“I said, ‘I want every screw taken. If there’s a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.’ We took everything,” he added.

He also mentioned the August 2021 attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers.

Trump said he had become acquainted with the families of the US service members killed in the attack and also highlighted those who were seriously wounded.

“What happened to those—to their children should never have been allowed to happen,” he said, adding that 48 wounded service members were severely injured and “never get mentioned.”

Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.

The US military announced on Wednesday that its forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The US-led mission began in 2014 to fight Daesh after the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The US is continuing its counter-Daesh mission in Syria from a headquarters in Jordan.

Trump said the US had entered Iraq to fight the Islamic State and that the group no longer controlled a territorial “caliphate.”

“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” he said.

Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, met with Belarus’ Minister of Industry during an official visit to the country.

The two sides discussed the establishment of manufacturing plants in Afghanistan, the regular organization of the Afghanistan-Belarus Business Forum, and follow-up on issues raised through the countries’ economic commission.

Belarusian officials expressed appreciation for Afghanistan’s participation in the country’s international industrial exhibition and voiced interest in expanding the presence of Belarusian manufacturing companies in Afghanistan.

Particular attention was given to companies producing tractors, industrial machinery, and equipment and vehicles used in the mining sector.

The second International Industrial Exhibition of Belarus is being held with the participation of around 500 companies from different countries. The exhibition has also attracted visitors from European and Asian countries.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has strongly condemned recent Pakistani airstrikes on residential areas in Kunar and Helmand provinces, saying the attacks resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children.

In a statement, Karzai expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished a swift recovery to those injured.

Karzai described the actions by Pakistani forces as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing that Afghans would stand united in defending their country against foreign aggression.

He also called on Pakistan’s leaders to review what he described as confrontational and hostile policies toward Afghanistan, urging Islamabad to avoid actions that harm Afghan civilians.

Karzai further called for an end to the promotion of extremism and division, and urged Pakistan to engage with Afghanistan on the basis of good-neighborly relations and civilized cooperation.