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US left behind $7 billion of military gear after troops withdrew: Pentagon

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(Last Updated On: April 28, 2022)

A new Pentagon report has revealed that the US left $7 billion of military gear – including 78 aircraft, 12,000 Humvees and thousands of air-to-ground weapons – in Afghanistan after President Joe Biden’s chaotic 2021 withdrawal.

The US handed the equipment to the previous Afghan government over the course of 16 years, CNN reported.

According to the report, seen by CNN, the US Defense Department has no plans to return to Afghanistan to “retrieve or destroy” the equipment.

The US gave a total of $18.6 billion of equipment to the former Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) from 2005 to August 2021, according to the report. Of that total, equipment worth $7.12 billion remained in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal was completed on August 30, 2021.

It included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment and other materials, according to the DoD report.

Quoting the report, which was submitted to Congress, CNN stated: “Much of the remaining equipment” left in Afghanistan requires “specialized maintenance that DoD contractors previously provided” to Afghan forces “in the form of technical knowledge and support.”

The Department of Defense was required to submit a report to Congress “regarding the disposition of United States property, equipment and supplies provided to” Afghan forces that “were destroyed, taken out of” or “remain in Afghanistan.”

The report also says that five Mi-17 helicopters that had been in Afghanistan were officially transferred to Ukraine in 2022, though they were already in Ukraine for maintenance before the US left Afghanistan. The Department of Defense notified Congress of its intent to transfer the helicopters in January 2022, before Russia’s invasion of the country had begun, and Ukraine signed a letter of acceptance on March 11, 2022.

“These five helicopters were in Ukraine undergoing overhaul maintenance when the Afghan government collapsed, and have remained there since,” the report states.

Other materials previously procured for Afghanistan by the US but not sent to the country, has been given to Ukraine, including about 37,000 122mm howitzer rounds, the report states.

The US has also transferred ammunition, grenade cartridges, and thousands of high-explosive mortar rounds to Ukraine from material that was previously procured for Afghanistan, the report states.

According to the report, aircraft worth $923.3 million remained in Afghanistan after withdrawal.

The US left 78 aircraft procured for the government of Afghanistan at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul before the end of the withdrawal. These aircraft were demilitarized and rendered inoperable before the US military left, the report states.

A total of 9,524 air-to-ground munitions, valued at $6.54 million, remained in Afghanistan at the conclusion of the US military withdrawal.

Over 40,000 of the total 96,000 military vehicles the US gave to Afghan forces remained in Afghanistan at the time of the US withdrawal, including 12,000 military Humvees, the report states.

“The operational condition of the remaining vehicles” in Afghanistan is “unknown,” the report states.

More than 300,000 of the total 427,300 weapons the US gave to Afghan forces remained in Afghanistan and “nearly all” of the communications equipment that the US gave to Afghan forces, including base-station, mobile, man-portable and hand-held commercial and military radio systems, and associated transmitters and encryption devices also remained in Afghanistan at the time of the withdrawal, the report states.

“Nearly all” night vision, surveillance, “biometric and positioning equipment” totaling nearly 42,000 pieces of specialized equipment remained in the country, and “nearly all,” of the explosive ordinance disposal and demining equipment, including 17,500 “pieces of explosive detection, electronic countermeasure, disposal and personal protective equipment” also remained in Afghanistan, according to the report.

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Nakamura canal project completed in Nangarhar

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(Last Updated On: May 14, 2024)

The construction of a water canal, planned by the late Japanese doctor and aid worker Tetsu Nakamura, has been completed in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.

Nakamura was from Japan, but had honorary citizenship of Afghanistan. He was killed in 2019.

He worked in Nangarhar for many years, focusing mainly on building water canals.

Nakamura was working hard to complete his projects, but these were suspended following his death.

Later, the projects were resumed with the help of the government of Japan.

During his time in Nangarhar, Nakamura built several health centers and carried out more than 1,600 irrigation projects, canal constructions and provision of clean water.

His greatest work was the construction of a 25-kilometer long canal from the Kunar river, which irrigates hundreds of acres of land.

He also built a recreation park, dug wells, and established agricultural research farms.

“Dr. Nakamura made 9 weirs in Kama, Shewa and Behsud districts. Thousands of acres of land are irrigated and millions of people benefit from it. All the projects planned by Nakamura have been completed,” said Ajmal Stankzai, the representative of the Nakamura Foundation.

“Nakamura would behave with a laborer like a laborer. He would take stones with us. He used to tell us that the people of every country serve their country and you should also serve the ruined Afghanistan,” said Deen Mohammad, a resident of Koz Kanar district of Nangarhar.

In Kama district, the work of Nakamura projects is ongoing. One of the projects is the construction of a secon canal from the Kunar river.

“There was a huge water problem in Kama district. Fortunately, with Nakamura’s cooperation, many lands were irrigated,” said Bashir Ahmad Kamawal, a resident of Kama district of Nangarhar.

After Nakamura’s death, now an NGO called PMS is following in his footsteps and is working to build canals and dams.

Recently, the construction of a canal in Kot district of Nangarhar was completed and inaugurated. The canal is 5 kilometers long.

“Many projects are planned and our ministry has taken care of them… We thank them for feeling the pain of Afghans and helping our country,” said Abdul Latif Mansour, Acting Minister of Energy and Water.

Tetsu Nakamura was shot and killed by unknown men in 2019 when he was going to work from Jalalabad city. It is not yet known who was behind the assassination.

 

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Deminer killed in landmine explosion in Uruzgan

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(Last Updated On: May 14, 2024)

A deminer died in a landmine explosion in Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province on Tuesday, police said.

The incident happened around 10:00 a.m. in Khurma area of provincial capital Trink Kot, said Hazrat Bilal Uruzgani, the provincial police spokesman.

Another deminer was injured in the incident, he said

Uruzgani said that the incident happened during an operation to clear the area from mines.

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Acting health minister visits flood-stricken villages in Baghlan

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(Last Updated On: May 14, 2024)

Afghanistan’s acting minister of public health Dr Qalandar Ebad, along with other officials, visited a number of flood-hit villages in Baghlan province on Tuesday.

The officials assessed damage in the villages of Sai Hazara and Gharo in the Guzargah district.

According to a statement issued by the ministry, Ebad inspected “vulnerable areas affected by recent floods and, expressing sympathy with the local people, promised that the leadership of the Ministry of Public Health will spare no effort to provide health services to those in need.”

Ebad also expressed gratitude for the efforts of healthcare workers and their commitment to helping people in need.

He directed officials to make every effort “to improve the health status of patients affected by recent floods in the villages of Sai Hazara and Gharo, Baghlan province”.

Based on official figures, more than 300 people have died as a result of floods in Baghlan province and over 1,600 others have been injured.

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