US troops leave Afghanistan’s Bagram airbase after nearly 20 years

Withdrawal comes just before 20th anniversary of start of US operations to topple Taliban in wake of 9/11

US troops have left Bagram, the sprawling airbase north of Kabul that was the symbolic and operational heart of its military operation in Afghanistan.

With that hub handed over to Afghan security forces, the final departure of US troops from the country is likely to be completed within days - and only months before the twentieth anniversary of the start of US operations to topple the Taliban, launched in response to the 9/11 attacks.