US special envoy for Afghanistan steps down after withdrawal

The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan is stepping down following the chaotic American withdrawal from the country, the State Department said Monday.

"I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people," Blinken said of Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Afghanistan. 

Khalilzad had initially planned to leave the job in May after Biden’s announcement that the U.S. withdrawal would be completed before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in September. However, he was asked to stay on and did so.