Taliban control now-quiet Kabul airport after US withdrawal

The Taliban now hold full control of Kabul’s international airport after the last U.S. plane left its runway

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The Taliban held full control of Kabul's international airport Tuesday after the last U.S. plane left its runway, marking the end of America's longest war and leaving behind a now-quiet airfield and Afghans outside it still hoping to flee the insurgents' rule. Vehicles raced back and forth along the Hamid Karzai International Airport's sole runway on the northern military side of the airfield. Before dawn broke, heavily armed Taliban fighters walked through hangars on the military side, passing some of the seven CH-46 helicopters the State Department used in its evacuations before rendering them unflyable. Taliban leaders later symbolically walked across the runway, marking their victory. “The world should have learned their lesson and this is the enjoyable moment of victory," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a livestream posted by a militant.