US vacates air base in Pakistan: security officials

ISLAMABAD - Agence France-Presse

US Marine helicopters are parked at Shamsi airfield in this file photo. AP photo

The United States vacated a Pakistani airbase today following a deadline given by Islamabad over NATO air strikes last month that killed 24 soldiers, security officials said.

"The Americans have vacated the Shamsi air base and it has been handed over to the Pakistani security forces," a senior security official told AFP.

The base in the southwestern province of Baluchistan was widely believed to have been used in covert CIA drone attacks against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Another official in Baluchistan confirmed that the last batch of US officials left in two flights on Sunday.