Most UK troops have left Afghanistan: PM Johnson

As the prime minister announces withdrawal, senior British military official warns that country may descend to civil war.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that most British troops have left Afghanistan, almost 20 years after the UK and other Western countries sent troops into the country to engage in what they described as a “war on terror”. Johnson stressed on Thursday that the threat posed by al-Qaeda to the UK has substantially diminished, but he sidestepped questions about whether the hasty military exodus by his country and its NATO allies risks undoing the work of nearly two decades or leaves Afghanistan vulnerable to the Taliban, which has made rapid advances in many northern districts. The prime minister declined to give details about the troop withdrawal, citing security reasons.