US Forces at Bagram scrapping vehicles

KABUL (Tolo News): As the US forces have announced withdrawal from Afghanistan, dozens of trailer trucks loaded with scrap from destroyed vehicles and equipment that belonged to American troops are leaving the Bagram Airfield on a daily basis as the process continues in full swing. Those who purchase the material say that so far the scrap has been worth millions of dollars.
Some residents of Bagram said that such equipment should have been handed over to Afghan forces instead of being scrapped by the US military.
But US forces have said the equipment will be scrapped so it does not fall into enemy hands. According to Bagram residents, over 20 to 30 trailer trucks loaded with scrapped equipment leave the airfield every day and are sold outside.
“Their spare parts are good, but not when they are scrapped. Now that they are leaving, they are scrapping all their equipment at the base,” said Haji Hasib, a Bagram resident. “All the vehicles are armored Lexus and Hilux SUVs. They bring it from the provinces to the Bagram Airfield where they have equipment that presses it. Each of their vehicles is worth over 100,000 dollars. They are all from the Afghan nation’s blood,” said Shakir, a Bagram resident.
Scrapped parts of armored vehicles, military equipment, other vehicles and electronics are seen among the scrapped equipment that is taken out of the airfield. “They are not handed over (to Afghan forces). They are brought here and are scrapped and are sold to our Afghans for the price of iron scrap,” said Mohammad Asif, a Bagram resident.
“There are various things among them,” said Shakir, a Bagram resident. The Afghan government has said that equipment worth $1 billion will be handed over to the Afghan forces. “They should be handed over to Afghan forces because they are at war. Our security is not good. We are in dire need of them,” said Abdul Wahab, a Bagram resident. Bagram Airfield has been the biggest airbase of the US military in Afghanistan over the last 20 years. US forces started a withdrawal on May 1, a process that is expected to be completed by Sept. 11.