Inside Afghanistan’s looted Bagram airbase after US departure – in pictures
‘In one night, they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did, in the night, without telling the Afghan soldiers who were outside,’
Bagram airbase after all US and Nato troops left
After nearly two decades, the US military has left Bagram, now Afghan forces have invited the press inside the huge, eerily quiet facility
Matt Fidler and Associated Press
Tue 6 Jul 2021
Items left behind include thousands of civilian vehicles, many of them without keys to start them. Before the Afghan army could take control of the airfield, it was invaded by a small army of looters, who ransacked barracks and storage tents before being evicted, according to Afghan military officials.
Photograph: Hedayatullah Amid/EPA
An Afghan soldier at the base. Gen Mir Asadullah Kohistani, Bagram’s new commander, said the US left behind 3.5m items, all itemised by the departing military. They include tens of thousands of bottles of water, energy drinks and military ready-made meals.
Photograph: Hedayatullah Amid/EPA
An Afghan soldier plays a guitar that was left behind. ‘In one night, they lost all the goodwill of 20 years by leaving the way they did, in the night, without telling the Afghan soldiers who were outside,’ said Naematullah, an Afghan soldier who asked that only his one name be used.
Photograph: Rahmat Gul/AP
Afghan scrap dealers buy items which were discarded by the US forces outside Bagram.
Photograph: Hedayatullah Amid/EPA
An Afghan man rests in his shop as he sell US secondhand goods outside the base.
Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
Mine Resistant Ambush Protection vehicles left at the base.
Photograph: Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images
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