In the last hour before flying out of Kabul, the US forces disabled military equipment worth billions of dollars that had to be left behind. The equipment was made inoperable so that the Taliban will not be able to use it, according to American TV channel CBS News.
“U.S. forces "demilitarized," or rendered useless, the military equipment it left behind, including dozens of military vehicles and aircraft, amounting to billions of dollars worth of equipment,” the news channel reported.
Due to the security threats, the weapon systems used just hours earlier to counter IS rockets launched toward the airport were kept operational until "the very last minute" as the final US military aircraft flew out, officials said. One of the last things US troops did was to make the so-called C-RAMS (Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System) inoperable.
General Kenneth. McKenzie, the head of the U.S. Central Command, said they "demilitarized" the system so it can never be used again.
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Officials said troops did not blow up equipment in order to ensure they left the airport workable for future flights, once those begin again. In addition, McKenzie said the US also disabled 27 Humvees and 73 aircraft so they can never be used again.
However, some military experts are of the view that some of the spares from this equipment can still be used by the Taliban to maintain the huge stocks of American weapons they have taken from the Afghan army.
Throughout the day, as the final C-17 transport planes prepared to take off, McKenzie said the US kept "overwhelming U.S. airpower overhead" to deal with potential IS threats.
Officials said troops did not blow up equipment in order to ensure they left the airport workable for future flights, once those begin again.
The military left some equipment for the Taliban in order to run the airport, including two fire-trucks, some front-end loaders and aircraft staircases.
Blinken said the US will work with Turkey and Qatar to help them get the Kabul airport up and running again.
"This would enable a small number of daily charter flights, which is a key for anyone who wants to depart from Afghanistan moving forward," he said.
