The last US military plane took off from Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport
The last American military plane, together with the last American troops, took off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport (KBL) in Afghanistan, Pentagon officials announced. This marks the end of the longest war in the United States, which spans more than two decades.
"I am here to announce the end of our withdrawal from Afghanistan. The last C-17 plane took off from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, 2021, at 15:29, East Coast time. The last manned plane is now free of Afghan airspace ", Marine Corps General Kenneth F. Mackenzie Jr. - Commander of the US Central Command, told reporters.
He added that there are American citizens left behind, but that he believes they may still be able to leave Afghanistan as the State Department continues to work to help them leave the Afghan territory now held by the Taliban. .
The 20-year war has cost the United States $ 2 trillion and more than 2.000 American soldiers killed in action, including 13 in recent explosions at Kabul airport.
Before Kabul fell, several evacuation flights were underway, taking about 5.600 people out of Afghanistan. A few days after the Taliban occupied, the United States deployed more than 6.000 American soldiers and dozens of C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to speed up operations. August 23, 2021, was the culmination of the evacuation of the United States, when approximately 21.600 Americans, Afghans and citizens of allied partners left Afghanistan on board US and Allied military and commercial aircraft.
In all, more than 122.000 people have been transported from Hamid Karzai International Airport (KBL) since July 2021, 5.400 of them Americans, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the military-led evacuation, calling the operation heroic, and also said that the US diplomatic presence will now move to Doha, Qatar.