US begins military equipment withdrawal from Afghan

A Marine with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit [File Photo by Sergeant Joseph R. Chenelly]

Washington: In a bid to pullout its combat troops by next year, United States on Monday started withdrwaing military equiment from Afghanistan through Pakistan.

Marcus Spade, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said on February 11 that 50 shipping containers were moved to Pakistan over the weekend.

25 containers crossed the Torkham border point heading to the Pakistani port city of Karachi for shipment, official informed.  

Most supplies for U.S. and NATO troops passed through Pakistan during the past eleven years.

Meanwhile, Islamabad has closed the route for nearly seven months following a U.S. airstrike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November last year.

The U.S. plans to withdraw several thousands troops from the war-torn Afghanistan this year and the NATO has set 2014 for a complete withdrawal.

The United States, which has currently more than 60,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of nearly 150,000 NATO force, plans to withdraw all its combat troops by 2014. Top U.S. military officials had earlier stated they would need Pakistan’s role in exit strategy and the country’s land routes will be crucial for troops and equipment withdrawal