American flag taken down at US Embassy in Kabul: report

The American flag at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, has been taken down after the Taliban moved into the city and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani reportedly fled the country. 

First reported by CNN on Sunday, the lowering of the flag marks the final step in the evacuation of staff from the embassy.

Those staffers were reportedly transferred to the Kabul airport, where they will be flown out of Afghanistan.

The embassy on Sunday instructed U.S. citizens to shelter in place in Kabul, however, amid reports that the airport was under fire. 

Last Thursday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. would not be conducting a “wholesale withdrawal” from the nation, CNN noted. 

“This is not abandonment. This is not an evacuation. This is not the wholesale withdrawal. What this is [is] a reduction in the size of our civilian footprint,” Price said. “The embassy remains open and we plan to continue our diplomatic work in Afghanistan.”

President Biden has defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan after two decades in the nation, saying their presence would not have affected the final outcome.