Washington (UNA-OIC) – The last US military planes have left the Afghan capital Kabul and the evacuation operation is over, Commander of US Central Command Marine Corps Gen. Frank McKenzie told Pentagon reporters on Monday.
“I’m here to announce the completion of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the end of the military mission to evacuate American citizens, third-country nationals and vulnerable Afghans,” McKenzie said via teleconference from his headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
The last C-17 departed from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 30, with Commander of troops in Kabul Army Maj. Gen. Chris Donahue, and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson aboard. It was fitting the State and Defense leaders left together, McKenzie said.
The C-17 departure today was both the end of the military portion of the evacuation and “also the end of the nearly 20-year mission that began in Afghanistan shortly after September 11, 2001,” he added.
