US completes as much as 44% of retrograde process

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said late Tuesday the Department of Defense has retrograded the equivalent of approximately 300 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan and has turned over nearly 13,000 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for disposal.

In a statement issued by CENTCOM, the U.S govt states it has also officially handed over six facilities to the Afghan Ministry of Defense.

“We anticipate additional transfers of bases and military assets in the future which will support the ANDSF/GIRoA (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) as they work to stabilize and defend their nation,” the statement read.

CENTCOM stated it estimates that the U.S. has completed between 30-44% of the entire retrograde process.

Earlier this year U.S. President Joe Biden announced all U.S. troops would be withdrawn by September 11. NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg at the same time announced NATO allies would also withdraw their forces.

Ahead of the retrograde the U.S. had an estimated 2,500 to 3,500 troops in Afghanistan while NATO forces totalled about 7,000.

Details have not however been released on how many troops might already have been withdrawn. Officials cite security reasons for not divulging details.