Pentagon says the LAST US troops left Afghanistan just after midnight in Kabul

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The Pentagon announced on Monday afternoon that the last American troops had left Kabul airport almost 24 hours ahead of schedule, ending the U.S. war in Afghanistan after 20 years and the deaths of almost 2500 troops.

Witnesses in Kabul said the Taliban let off celebratory gunfire as news circulated that the final U.S. flight had left.

It means President Biden managed to meet his August 31 deadline and removes American personnel from danger.

But it comes at the cost of letting a militant group retake the country and after the deaths of 13 U.S. service members last week. 

And Americans and Afghan allies left behind must fend for themselves now that the airport no longer offers an escape route.

The end of the mission was announced by General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, who said the  chief U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan, Ross Wilson, was on the last C-17 flight out. 

‘There’s a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure,’ he said.

‘We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out. 

‘But I think if we’d stayed another 10 days, we wouldn’t have gotten everybody out.’ 

The final C-17 lifted off from Hamid Karzai International Airport at 3:29 pm East Coast time.  

‘And the last manned aircraft is now clearing the airspace above Afghanistan,’ he added. 

The departure of American troops means the conflict ends with the Taliban back in power and Afghans deeply uncertain of what the future holds.

In a statement, Biden said the world would be watching how the Taliban behaved.  

‘The Taliban has made commitments on safe passage and the world will hold them to their commitments,’ he said, adding that negotiations continued to keep the airport open and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.

He added that he would address the nation on Tuesday and that his military chiefs had agreed the evacuation should not be extended beyond the deadline. 

‘Their view was that ending our military mission was the best way to protect the lives of our troops, and secure the prospects of civilian departures for those who want to leave Afghanistan in the weeks and months ahead,’ he said.  

The dangers were apparent in a final week when the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the airport on behalf of its Afghan affiliate ISIS-K and terrorism experts said Al Qaeda retained a dangerous presence in the country.

The Taliban quickly declared victory after the last U.S. plane departed. 

‘American soldiers left the airport, and our nation got its full independence,’ said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. 

Footage quickly emerged on social media of Taliban fighters apparently making their way through Kabul airport, examining Chinook helicopters left behind by U.S. troops.

‘The last five aircraft have left, it’s over,’ Hemad Sherzad, a Taliban fighter stationed at Kabul’s international airport, told the Associated Press. 

‘I cannot express my happiness in words. … Our 20 years of sacrifice worked.’

The last days of the withdrawal were the most difficult and dangerous.  

Troops had to get the remaining evacuees on to planes even as their own numbers and supplies were being flown out.

Officials repeatedly warned of the risk of further suicide attacks or rocket assaults.  

It was not supposed to be like this. Plans for an orderly departure evaporated as the Taliban advanced rapidly across the country as they capitalized on an Afghan army that fell apart when it knew its strongest army was leaving. 

McKenzie shrugged off questions about his feelings at leaving the country in the grip of religious hardliners that American had gone to war to vanquish. 

‘No words from me could possibly capture the full measure of sacrifices and accomplishments of those who serve, nor the emotions they’re feeling at this moment, but I will say that I’m proud that both my son and I have been a part of it,’ he said. 

He said the final plane carrying American civilians left about 12 hours before the final flight. 

That could leave as many as 250 stranded in the country as negotiations continue about setting up a mechanism to allow them to leave.

‘I believe we’re going to be able to get those people out,’ said McKenzie. 

‘I think we’re going to negotiate very hard, very aggressively to get our other Afghan partners out.’

Turkey has offered to run the airport but wants to deploy its own troops for security – a possible sticking point with the Taliban. 

The withdrawal was dominated by a hurriedly thrown together evacuation effort. 

A coalition of countries worked around the clock to rescue their citizens and Afghans who worked for their militaries.

More than 122,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since Aug. 14, the day before the regained control of the country. 

It leaves those left behind in a perilous state.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a notice that Hamid Karzai International Airport was without air traffic control service after the U.S. exit. 

The Pentagon remained tight-lipped about its final operations on Monday and refused to discuss when its last troops would leave.

Earlier in the day, spokesman John Kirby told reporters ‘there is still time’ for Americans to join the massive airlift that has allowed more than 116,000 people to leave since the Taliban swept back into power two weeks ago.

All day Monday, U.S. military transport jets came and went despite a rocket attack early in the morning. 

The crisis has been the biggest test of Biden’s presidency.

He has faced repeated questions about whether his decision triggered the collapse of the government in Kabul and the rapid return to power of the Taliban. 

International allies have said they blindsided by the rush to the exit, and Democrats and Republicans have delivered a withering stream of criticism.

On Sunday, he came to face to face with the consequences of his decision to bring home U.S. troops home.

He met families of 13 service members killed in a suicide attack outside Kabul airport, as they protected the evacuation, and then watched in solemn silence as their remains were carried from a C-17 transport plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

But the war is not over with America’s departure. The return of the Taliban brings with it the spectre of safe havens for U.S. enemies.

And he Biden administration faces a dilemma about its commitment to launch ‘over the horizon’ strikes on terrorist threats.

It had expected to be able to rely on the support of the Afghan government to provide cover for air strikes on groups plotting attacks on U.S. interests. 

With the Taliban in power, Biden may need fresh rules of engagement to justify attacks on Afghan soil when it is no longer an American battlefield. 

The emergence of ISIS-K as a potent threat may cause the biggest headache.

It posed the biggest threat to the withdrawal after carrying out a suicide bomb attack at the airport late last week that claimed more than 170 lives. 

Biden had warned more attacks were highly likely and the United States said it carried out an air strike on Sunday night in Kabul on an explosives-laden vehicle. 

American officials said that a U.S. drone strike blew up a vehicle carrying ‘multiple suicide bombers.’ An Afghan official said three children were killed in the strike.

The other pressing need is to find a mechanism that will ensure people are able to leave Afghanistan.  

Earlier in the day a divided U.N. Security Council pressed the Taliban to stick to its public promises that foreigners and Afghans would be free to leave.

Sponsored by the U.S., Britain and France, the measure also calls for letting humanitarian aid flow, upholding human rights and combating terrorism.

‘The eyes of all Afghans are watching this council, and they expect clear support from the international community. And this lack of unity is a disappointment for us and for them,’ French Deputy Ambassador Nathalie Broadhurst said after the vote, in which Russia and China abstained. 

Afterwards, the British permanent representative said the U.N. could consider using sanctions to hold the Taliban to their word. 

‘The first is that we know that the Taliban want to see the lifting of some of the sanctions on Afghanistan, and that will be an important consideration,’ Ambassador Barbara Wooding told reporters.

‘The flip side of that is, of course, the Security Council could consider further sanctions on Afghanistan.’