In this image provided by the U.S. Army, paratroopers inspect weapons during an evacuation operation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
The Taliban is celebrating its takeover of Afghanistan. Its top spokesman congratulated Afghan people on their victory, hours after the last US troops left the country following 20 years of military intervention.
"Congratulations to Afghanistan... this victory belongs to us all," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said from the runway of Kabul airport. "We want to have good relations with the US and the world. We welcome good diplomatic relations with them all," he added.
The US has said that Embassy in Kabul has suspended operations. "While the U.S. government has withdrawn its personnel from Kabul, we will continue to assist U.S. citizens and their families in Afghanistan from Doha, Qatar," the website said.
Secretary Antony Blinken said that the US will continue to support humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, not through the government, but rather through independent organizations, like UN agencies & NGOs. "We expect that those efforts will not be impeded by the Taliban or anyone."
"As of today, we have suspended our diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred our operations to Doha, Qatar. We will use the post in Doha to manage our diplomacy with Afghanistan. US military flights have ended and our troops have departed Afghanistan," he added.
The United States completed the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan on Monday, ending 20 years of war that culminated in the militant Taliban's return to power.
According to a report in The Associated Press, as the final five US military transport aircraft lifted off out of Afghanistan Monday, they left behind up to 200 Americans and thousands of desperate Afghans who couldn’t get out and now must rely on the Taliban to allow their departure.
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