Afghan Army Chief: US Drones Occasionally Violate Afghan Airspace

"American drones occasionally fly over Afghanistan's airspace. Drones occasionally patrol, and Afghanistan's airspace is still occupied by the Americans," the local media outlet Tolonews quoted Fitrat as saying on Wednesday.

Blaming "one of the neighboring countries" for allowing the U.S. to operate pilotless planes from its territory over Afghan airspace, the Afghan army chief did not identify the name of the country, Xinhua reported.

U.S.-led forces left Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year military occupation of the country.

Fitrat also counted the strength of Afghan armed forces as high as 500,000, saying that the number includes army, police, and intelligence personnel.

The Afghan caretaker government currently has a 172,000-strong national army, Fitrat said, adding that efforts are underway to boost the strength of the national army up to 200,000.