The fall of Kabul and the American withdrawal
Twenty years of war end with the Taliban back in power and an airlift out of Kabul.
- When
- Known to
- ± 12 hours
- Era
- Contemporary, Holocene
- Where
- Kabul, Afghanistan · 34.5553° N, 69.2075° E
The last American transport leaves Hamid Karzai International Airport on 30 August 2021, closing the longest war in United States history. The Afghan army the coalition had spent two decades and roughly eighty billion dollars building collapsed in days rather than the months intelligence had forecast; the Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August. Some 120,000 people were flown out in a fortnight, an ISIS-K bombing at the airport killed 13 American service members and at least 170 Afghans, and many who had worked for the coalition were left behind.