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Afghanistan after the US withdrawal
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US Army General Chris Donahue boards the last flight from Kabul. Photo: US Army

The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan: General Chris Donahue

  • Commander of US military forces last to leave Afghanistan
  • US military disabled scores of aircraft before leaving Kabul airport
The US military shared an image of the last of the country's soldiers to leave Kabul, marking the end of a 20-year war in Afghanistan.

General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd airborne division, is shown boarding the flight late Monday out of Kabul's Hamid Karzai airport in a night vision camera image.

“The last American soldier leaves Afghanistan,” US Central Command tweeted.

The final withdrawal of US troops from Kabul airport was completed on Monday.

The last US military plane took off one minute before midnight local time from the Afghan capital.

03:21

Departure of last American soldier from Kabul marks end of 20-year US mission in Afghanistan

Departure of last American soldier from Kabul marks end of 20-year US mission in Afghanistan

It saw the US and its allies leaving Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, the same militant Islamists that they toppled from power at the end of 2001.

The US military disabled scores of aircraft and armoured vehicles as well as a hi-tech rocket defence system at the Kabul airport before it left, a US general said.

Central Command head General Kenneth McKenzie said 73 aircraft that were already at Hamid Karzai International Airport were “demilitarised”, or rendered useless, by US troops before they wrapped up the two-week evacuation of the Taliban-controlled country.

Taliban celebrates victory as last US troops leave

“Those aircraft will never fly again … They’ll never be able to be operated by anyone,” he said.

“Most of them are non-mission capable to begin with. But certainly they’ll never be able to be flown again.”

He said the Pentagon, which built up a force of nearly 6,000 troops to occupy and operate Kabul’s airport when the airlift began on August 14, left behind around 70 MRAP armoured tactical vehicles – which can cost up to US$1 million apiece – that it disabled before leaving, and 27 Humvees.

The vehicles “will never be used again by anyone,” he said.

01:12

Final evacuation flight leaves Kabul, ending 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan

Final evacuation flight leaves Kabul, ending 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan

The US also left behind the C-RAM system – counter rocket, artillery, and mortar – that was used to protect the airport from rocket attacks.

The system helped fend off a five-rocket barrage from Islamic State on Monday.

“We elected to keep those systems in operation up until the very last minute,” before the last US aircraft left, McKenzie said.

“It’s a complex procedure and time-intensive procedure to break down those systems. So we demilitarise those systems so that they’ll never be used.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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