The Pentagon has confirmed that the last US military plane has departed Kabul, officially ending America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan after a rushed and chaotic evacuation.
General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said that since August 14, the US evacuated about 79,000 people from Kabul, including 6,000 Americans. He announced that the withdrawal marks both the end of the evacuation mission and the end of the US military presence that began after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan earlier in August, taking Kabul on the 15th after President Ashraf Ghani fled and government forces collapsed. Despite this, US troops held the airport while evacuations continued to meet President Joe Biden’s August 31 deadline.
McKenzie said that all American service members are now out of Afghanistan. He explained that the evacuation began with the expectation that Afghan forces would cooperate, but within a day the Taliban had taken over, forcing the US to work with them out of necessity.
President Biden praised the evacuation effort and promised to help remaining Americans and eligible Afghans leave the country. He said the Taliban must honor their promise to allow safe passage and that the world will hold them accountable.
Earlier on Monday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution requiring the Taliban to allow people to leave freely.
In recent weeks, Kabul’s airport has seen chaos as thousands of Afghans tried to flee. A suicide bombing last week killed at least 175 people, including 13 US troops, an attack claimed by ISIS-K.
