The last US military plane has left Kabul airport, completing the withdrawal of all American troops after the country’s two-decades engagement in Afghanistan.
“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan and the end of the mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and vulnerable Afghans,” Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.
The departure of the last flight signals accomplishment of President Joe Biden’s mission to bring all American troops back home – after twenty years of conflict launched after 9/11 terror attacks on the US, which were traced back to the al-Qaeda hideouts in Afghanistan. The US launched the war on October 7, 2001, and has ended it almost exactly twenty years later.
According to Gen McKenzie, the last C-17 left the Hamid Karzai International airport at 3:29 p.m. ET and cleared Afghanistan’s airspace.
“Every single U.S. service member is now out of Afghanistan,” he said.
However, hundreds of Americans are still in Afghanistan as they could not make it to the airport. Thousands of Afghans, who assisted the US mission are also hoping to catch flights out of their country as they fear a reaction from the Taliban.
The withdrawal metastasized into a huge political challenge for Biden amid chaos in Kabul after the Taliban takeover and an ISIL or Daesh terror attack that killed 13 American troops.
According to Gen McKenzie, the last C-17 left the Hamid Karzai International airport at 3:29 p.m. ET and cleared Afghanistan’s airspace.
According to Pentagon, the evacuation of civilians continues from Afghanistan.
“While the military evacuation is complete, the diplomatic mission to ensure additional U.S. citizens and eligible Afghans who want to leave continues,” Gen McKenzie said.
