Era ends, uncertainty looms as U.S. forces quit main Afghanistan base

FILE PHOTO: A Chinook helicopter flies over the Bagram Air Base north of Kabul February 13, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail

KABUL (Reuters) -American troops pulled out of their main military base in Afghanistan on Friday, leaving behind a piece of the World Trade Center they buried 20 years ago in a country that could descend into civil war without them.

The quiet departure from Bagram Air Base brought an effective end to the longest war in U.S. history. It came as the Taliban insurgency ramps up its offensive throughout the country after peace talks sputtered.