The last US military flight has left Kabul airport, marking the end of a controversial 20-year presence in Afghanistan and America’s longest war.
Officials said the last C17 aircraft took off with the US ambassador onboard after midnight local time on Tuesday.
The US completed its military withdrawal from Afghanistan after a huge but chaotic airlift that cost the lives of 13 U.S. troops and left behind thousands of Afghans and hundreds of Americans still seeking an escape from Taliban rule.
The closing hours of the evacuation were marked by extraordinary drama. American troops faced the daunting task of getting final evacuees onto planes while also getting themselves and some of their equipment out, even as they monitored repeated threats — and at least two actual attacks — by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate. A suicide bombing on Aug. 26 killed 13 American service members and some 169 Afghans. More died in various incidents during the airport evacuation.
In a first in the nearly 20 years since al Qaeda’s Sept. 11, 2001, attacks plunged the United States into war, not a “single service member” from the U.S. military was in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said in an afternoon news conference.
They added that the diplomatic mission to assist those unable to leave before the deadline would continue.
It also was the end of a massive evacuation effort that began on 14 August soon after the Taliban took over the country.
The top U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was aboard the last C-17 military transport flight out of Kabul’s airport at 11:59 p.m. Kabul time, along with the commanding general of the U.S. military’s 82nd Airborne Division.
Celebratory gunfire by the Taliban was heard after the last plane departed.
More than 122,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since Aug. 14, the day before the Taliban – which harbored the al Qaeda militant group behind the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington – regained control of the country.
As the U.S. troops departed, they destroyed more than 70 aircraft, dozens of armoured vehicles and disabled air defences that had thwarted an attempted Islamic State rocket attack on the eve of the U.S. departure.
US President, Joe Biden, in a statement, commended U.S. troops for carrying out the largest airlift in U.S. history “with unmatched courage, professionalism, and resolve.” “Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended,” he said.
Following the pullout, Taliban fighters were seen exploring Kabul airport and taking over its facilities, including a hangar with aircraft apparently left behind by the US. Some fighters were wearing discarded US military uniforms and equipment.
A Los Angeles Times photojournalist on the scene said the fighters were already organising supplies, checking equipment that was left behind and securing the perimeter.
General McKenzie said troops “demilitarized” 73 aircraft, 70 armoured tactical vehicles and 27 Humvees so they wouldn’t be used by the Taliban.
“Those aircraft will never fly again… They’ll never be able to be operated by anyone,” he said.
The US also disabled its high-tech rocket defence system – which it left behind at the airport too. The C-RAM system sprung into action on Monday to counter an Islamic State rocket attack on the airport.
Taliban fighters in the past weeks have been seen with a range of US-produced military weapons and vehicles. These had originally been provided to the Afghan national army, but when those forces quickly surrendered, they fell into the hands of the Taliban instead.
Taliban leadership arrived at Kabul airport on Tuesday, and have been speaking to reporters on the runway.
AFP news agency quoted the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid as saying: “Congratulations to Afghanistan… this victory belongs to us all.”
“We want to have good relations with the US and the world. We welcome good diplomatic relations with them all,” he added.
He thanked the fighters on the ground for their efforts and congratulated them for “gaining independence”.
“We are proud of your sacrifices. This is because of the hardships you and our leaders suffered. It is because of (our leaders’) honesty and patience that we are independent today,” he said.
“So I congratulate you and the Afghan nation. Our wish is that our country will never be invaded again. We want peace, prosperity and a true Islamic system.”
He also urged the Taliban fighters to “be gentle” with the Afghan people.
“I would also like to ask you to be careful in how you deal with your people. This nation has suffered a lot. The Afghan people deserve to be treated with love and sympathy. So, be gentle to them. We are their servants. We have not imposed ourselves on them.”
Additional reporting from AP, BBC and Reuters
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