KABUL, Aug 31 (NNN-ANA) – The Taliban deployed special forces at the Kabul airport today, hours after the last batch of U.S. troops left Afghanistan.
The Badri Special Forces have been deployed at the Kabul airport. “Security and safety is ensured at the airport,” Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, told reporters at the airport.
“We are ready to secure the airport. Everything will be back to normal soon,” Mujahid said. “The U.S. troops have left a lot of mess at the airport, so it is a technical issue and will take some time to be solved, and efforts are underway to restart commercial flights soon.”
Earlier in the day, the Taliban spokesman welcomed the U.S. troops pullout from Afghanistan. “After the U.S. withdrawal, Afghanistan became completely free and independent,” he said.
The final evacuation flight was conducted on the last hours of last night, airlifting the last U.S. military and non-military personnel back home, one day before today’s deadline set by U.S. President, Joe Biden.
“The U.S. had withdrawn from Afghanistan after two decades, but the Americans left a mess in our country,” said Khoja Wahid, a Kabul resident.
“The U.S. is defeated and it is badly defeated,” said the 42-year-old man.
“As I found in media reports early today, the Americans are going to open its embassy to Afghansitan in Qatar. It is showing that the U.S. lost everything in Afghanistan.”
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said just hours after the final evacuation flights left Kabul that, the United States shifted its diplomatic operations to Qatar.
“As of today, we’ve suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred our operations to Doha, Qatar,” the top U.S. diplomat said.
However, spokesman Mujahid made it clear that Taliban intended to have economic and trade ties with all countries around the world, including the United States.
“Every country can have good relations and political and trade ties with Afghanistan,” he said.
Kabul resident, Ahmad Fawad, said, the U.S. claimed they came to Afghanistan to ensure peace and security and uphold human rights, but “you can see their evacuation was not conducted in a responsible manner, as so many people died, including 13 U.S. soldiers.”
Fawad referred to the suicide bomb blast and gun firing on Aug 26, which killed at least 160 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, and injured nearly 200 others, at a gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, when huge crowds were waiting to board evacuation flights.
ISIS-K, a local affiliate of the Daesh group in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Although thousands of Afghan experts and educated people left the country, the young generation is still determined to stay in Afghanistan, if peace returns and their safety and security are ensured,” Fawad said.
“Now, it is on the United States, their allies, the UN and the countries in the region to help we Afghans building our future.”
Shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul airport, Taliban members started celebratory gun firing in Kabul roughly at 1:00 a.m. local time today, which lasted for about an hour.
The Afghan capital was calm “like other normal days,” but a U.S. drone was spotted flying over the city, witnesses in Kabul said.
The main business hub, Mandawi, in Kabul is open and there is traffic jam in the central part of the city. As the exchange market is still closed, many exchangers and vendors are doing small business on a road outside the market, according to witnesses.
Most banks in Kabul still remain closed today, with only government and private bank’s main branches open.
Salima, a female teacher in Kabul, expressed her hope for lasting peace in the country, welcoming the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.
“At least there is no more pretext for any armed group to continue war and fighting,” she said.
“Americans did not accomplish what they promised to Afghans. Although I am also concerned by the ongoing uncertainty, hopefully the situation will get better eventually, borders will reopen, and prices are not out of control. It will take a little time to have everything well,” she added.
The U.S. Central Command announced that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has completed, ending the longest war in U.S. history.
“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,” Kenneth McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, told a news conference in Washington.
The U.S. and its allies speeded up their troops withdrawal from Afghansitan, after the Taliban took control of Kabul on Aug 15. The U.S. allies, including Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Australia, already pulled out their troops from the war-torn country.
Claiming to be in pursuit of Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, the U.S.-led military forces invaded Afghanistan and ousted the Taliban within weeks of the terrorist attacks in 2001.
Over 2,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan over the past two decades, with 20,000 others wounded, according to the Pentagon. Estimates showed that over 66,000 Afghan troops have been killed, and over 2.7 million people have been forced to leave their homes.– NNN-ANA
