Withdrawal Will Not End War in Afghanistan: Petraeus

General David Petraeus, former commander of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and former CIA director in an interview with has said that the US troops withdrawal from the country “is not going to end the endless war in Afghanistan.”

“It is going to end the US and the coalition involvement in that war militarily” he said in an interview with FRANCE 24 on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden last month announced that the remaining 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan would leave by September 11.

“I do fear that two to three years from now we are going to look back and regret the decision to withdraw the remaining 3,500 US troops,” Petraeus said in the interview. “This is not going to end the endless war in Afghanistan; it is going to end the US and the coalition involvement in that war militarily.”

In addition to the risk of the Taliban gaining ground, Petraeus also warned of the possibility of an Daesh group resurgence in the region.

“I do think there is a risk of the Daesh establishing a sanctuary in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, the very rugged mountainous border area, which is where many of these groups have their headquarters,” the former top US commander explained.

Reports indicate that US military officials have removed some 60 planeloads of gear from Afghanistan and identified about 1,300 pieces of equipment for destruction by Tuesday.

On May 2, US forces handed over Camp Antonik to Afghan forces in Washir district, Helmand province, according to the Afghan Defense Ministry.

Violence has increased in the country following the start of the US and NATO forces withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense said that at least 80 Taliban were killed in Afghan forces operations in different parts of the country in the last 24 hours.