KABUL: Nato says it is planning the logistics for withdrawing $30 billion worth of military equipment and gear from Afghanistan when alliance troops leave the country.

A senior Nato official said on Tuesday the coalition's state-of-the-art gear has to be taken out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, when American and other Nato troops are to end their combat mission.

He says the operation to remove thousands of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, and vast quantities of other equipment accumulated over the 10-year war will start soon.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning is still in its initial stages.

More than 10,000 US and other allied troops left Afghanistan in 2011, and tens of thousands are due to join them by the end of this year.