Afghanistan: First international commercial flight after US forces’ withdrawal leaves Kabul

An international commercial flight carrying over 100 foreigners left Kabul on Thursday, making it the first such plane to have taken off since the United States forces left Afghanistan last month, Reuters reported.

A total of 113 people were on the Qatar Airways flight from Kabul to Doha, the agency quoted officials as saying. Citizens of the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Germany and the United Kingdom were reportedly among the passengers on the flight.

All commercial flights had been suspended at Kabul airport on August 16, a day after the Taliban captured the city. On August 31, the last US soldiers left Afghanistan, ending a 20-year-long war that began after a terrorist attack in New York city on September 11, 2001.

Qatar’s special envoy for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani said the flight that took off on Thursday was a regular one, and not an evacuation plane, The Guardian reported. He said that another such flight will take off on Friday.

The envoy called it was a historic day for Afghanistan, the BBC reported. He added the Kabul airport was now operational.

US National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne praised the Taliban for facilitating the flight. “The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA [Hamid…

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