British troops end combat operations in Afghanistan

British troops ended their combat operations in Afghanistan as they and US Marines handed over two huge adjacent bases to the Afghan military, 13 years after a US-led invasion launched the costly war against the Taliban.

Their departure leaves Afghanistan and its newly installed president, Ashraf Ghani, to deal almost unaided with an emboldened Taliban insurgency after the last foreign combat troops withdraw by the year’s end.

At the US Camp Leatherneck and Britain’s Camp Bastion, which lie next to each other in the south-western province of Helmand, troops lowered the US and UK flags for the final time yesterday and folded them away.

The timing of their withdrawal had not been announced for security reasons.

Camp Leatherneck, the largest US base to be handed over to Afghan control, and Camp Bastion together formed the international coalition’s regional headquarters for the south-west of Afghanistan, housing up to 40,000 military personnel and civilian contractors.

However, yesterday, the base resembled a dust-swept ghost town of concrete blast walls, empty barracks, and razor wire. Offices and bulletin boards, which once showed photo tributes to dead US and British soldiers, had been stripped.

“It’s eerily empty,” said Lieutenant Will Davis, of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards in the British Army. Camp Bastion was also where Prince Harry was based in 2012 as an Apache helicopter gunner.

In all, 2,210 US soldiers and 453 British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001, when the US-led coalition toppled the Taliban government for harbouring al Qaeda after the militant group carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

The coalition has been led by Nato since 2003, and includes forces from Germany, Italy, Jordan, and Turkey.

After yesterday’s withdrawal, the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps will be headquartered at the 28sq km base, leaving almost no foreign military presence in Helmand.

The US military is leaving behind it about $230m (€182m) worth of property and equipment — including a major airstrip at the base, plus roads and buildings — for the Afghan military.

“We gave them the maps to the place. We gave them the keys,” said Colonel Doug Patterson.

Helmand province produces 80%-90% of the opium that helps finance the Taliban’s insurgency. It has seen fierce fighting this year, with Taliban and allied forces seeking to seize Sangin district from the Afghan army and police.

The battles have raised concerns about whether Afghan forces are truly able to hold off the Taliban without intelligence and air support from the US and its allies.

“I’m cautiously optimistic they will be able to sustain themselves,” said Brigadier General Daniel Yoo, who added that the success of the Afghan security forces depended on leadership, continued development of logistics, and confidence. “They’ve got to want it more than we do,” he said.