In Pics: US troops exit Afghanistan, ending America's 20-year-old war
The United States has announced the end of its 20-year-old war in Afghanistan as the last American military flight flew out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul shortly before the August 31 deadline.
The United States announced the end of its 20-year-old war in Afghanistan as the last American military flight flew out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul shortly before the August 31 deadline. In this image made through a night vision scope and provided by US Central Command, Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, commander of the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, boards a C-17 cargo plane at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan as the final American service member to depart Afghanistan. (US Central Command via AP)
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In this image provided by the Department of Defense, a CH-47 Chinook from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division is loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, August, 28, 2021. (Department of Defense via AP)
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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," US Central Command Commander Marine Corps General Frank McKenzie told reporters through a virtual news conference. In this image, a U.S military aircraft takes off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, August. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)
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Every single US service member is now out of Afghanistan, McKenzie said, announcing the formal end of America's longest war, less than a fortnight before the 20th anniversary of the September 9/11, in which Al Qaeda terrorists blew up the twin towers in New York. In this image, Gen. Frank McKenzie, Commander of the U.S. Central Command, speaks from MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Fla., and appears on a screen as he speaks about the situation in Afghanistan during a virtual briefing moderated by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at the Pentagon in Washington, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The Taliban, which now is the ruling power in Afghanistan, welcomed the departure of the US troops from the country. Congratulations to all our compatriots and our dear nation and Mujahideen: Today, all foreign forces left our pure and martyr land, the Taliban said in a tweet in Persian. In this image, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby with U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor, Joint Staff Operations, conclude a briefing about the situation in Afghanistan at the Pentagon in Washington, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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A carry team loads a transfer case with the remain of Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio, into a transfer vehicle during a casualty return at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, for the 13 service members killed in the suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August. 26. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken look on as a carry team moves a transfer case with the remain of Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Ind., during a casualty return at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Aug. 29, 2021, for the 13 service members killed in the suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 26. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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President Joe Biden holds a presidential challenge coin as he speaks with Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Air Force Col. Chip Hollinger and others after participating in a casualty return at Dover Air Force Base. Biden embarked on a solemn journey Sunday to honor and mourn the 13 U.S. troops killed in the suicide attack near the Kabul airport as their remains return to U.S. soil from Afghanistan. First lady Jill Biden is at right. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
