United States officials have confirmed that the last of the country’s evacuation planes left Afghanistan.
According to a report in Deutsche Welle, the last US plane took off around Tuesday midnight from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. US Central Command Commander Kenneth McKenzie officially announced the complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the end of the military mission for the evacuation of US citizens.
McKenzie has stated that American military had in the past two weeks evacuated over 120,000 civilians, however, he added that the US was unable to get everybody they intended to get out. US State Secretary Antony Blinken has revealed that between 100 to 200 Americans wishing to leave Afghanistan remain in the country following the complete US withdrawal.
US President Joe Biden had set a deadline of August 31 for the complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Following the Taliban takeover, Biden had maintained that the date would not be changed, however, he had spoken of contingency plans in case the evacuation deadline was not met.
The Taliban celebrated their ‘complete independence’ as spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid led other leaders on to the airport as the last American troops left. Mujahid stated, “American soldiers left the Kabul airport, and our nation got its full independence.”
