Evacuation of US Embassy in Kabul is complete, State Department says

The State Department announced on Sunday that the evacuation of personnel from its embassy in Kabul is complete, hours after the U.S. started pulling staff from the consulate amid the Taliban’s takeover of the capital city.

“We can confirm that the safe evacuation of all Embassy personnel is now complete. All Embassy personnel are located on the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the U.S. Military,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price wrote in a statement.

The news comes after the U.S. started evacuating personnel from the embassy Sunday morning, after the Taliban seized control of Kabul, which drove Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to leave the country.

He later wrote in a statement on Facebook that he fled to avoid confrontations in Kabul that could have led to more bloodshed.

The American flag was lowered from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul earlier on Sunday, marking the final step in the evacuation of personnel from the consulate.