Some 250 ISAF bases handed over to Afghan forces: ISAF spokesman

Over half of the remaining bases belonging to the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan have been handed over to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), an ISAF spokesman says.

Brigadier General Gunter Katz said in a Monday press conference in the Afghan capital city of Kabul that nearly 250 bases out of 400 had been handed over to the local forces.

Katz, however, added that the handover of the bases does not necessarily include the arms and equipment used to protect them.

“Of handing over bases to the Afghans, I would be very cautious in saying [it includes] all the equipment. It’s basically just what’s been used to run the infrastructure – this doesn’t include weapons or stuff like this,” Katz said.

Meanwhile, Afghan authorities say most of the remaining ISAF military bases will be razed or given to ANSF by the end of 2014.

The development comes as according to a Sunday report by the Wall Street Journal, Washington plans to keep some 10,000 soldiers in Afghanistan after the end of the formal combat operations in 2014.

The report added that General John Allen, the commander of US and foreign forces in Afghanistan, had also recommended that the administration of US President Barack Obama maintain a post-2014 force of between 6,000 and 15,000 troops in Afghanistan.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity remains rampant across the country.