US Air Force C-17s and other aircraft assist with the withdrawal from Afghanistan. US Air Force
US Air Force C-17s and other aircraft assist with the withdrawal from Afghanistan. US Air Force

2021 - The fall of Kabul

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2021 - The fall of Kabul

2021 - The fall of Kabul
  • After 2 decades, trillions of dollars and countless lives lost, Afghanistan is back where it began. Was it all in vain?

KABUL: During the hot summer of 2021, a deep sense of eeriness, and at the same time optimism, hung over Afghanistan as one city and province after another fell to the Taliban ahead of the imminent full withdrawal of US-led troops.

Those weeks were a microcosm reflecting much of the experience of the 20 years following the US invasion of a country that had already suffered a bloody, decade-long occupation by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and between 1838 and 1939 endured a series of conflicts with the British Empire.

On Feb. 29, 2020, the Taliban signed the Doha Accord, a peace agreement with a US administration determined to end to America’s longest war, which began in 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda.

As part of the deal — officially known as the “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which is not recognized by the United States as a state and is known as the Taliban and the United States of America” — Washington agreed to dramatically reduce the number of US forces in the country ahead of a complete withdrawal within 14 months.

It immediately became apparent, however, that without US air and ground support, Afghan government forces could not cope with the sudden surge in Taliban attacks that followed the signing of the agreement.

How we wrote it




Arab News reported the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul “20 years after the US-led invasion that ousted them.”

Even the Taliban were stunned by the speed of their victories in 2001, which by Aug. 15 had brought them to the gates of Kabul.

The fall of the city had been predicted a year earlier by Mariam Koofi, a member of the Afghan parliament, while the talks between Taliban delegates and US diplomats were still in full swing in Doha.

“I fear that we would see the Taliban on the streets of Kabul one day when you get up from your bed,” Koofi told me.

Her assessment was based on a number of factors, including corruption within the government, rising numbers of deaths among Afghan troops, power struggles between state and non-state actors, the growing push for a US withdrawal by regional rivals such as Iran, Russia and China, and the decline in vital American military and logistical aid to the government of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

On Aug. 15, 2021, Koofi’s prediction came to pass. As news spread that Ghani and members of his government had fled by helicopter to Central Asia, and US and other Western diplomats had abandoned their embassies in panic, Taliban fighters entered Kabul and captured the presidential palace.

In some parts of the city, large crowds gathered on the streets, some in fear, some to welcome their new rulers. Others were merely curious to see them for the first time, because they were born during the US occupation and so had not experienced the first rule of the Taliban, which was cut short by the American-led invasion in 2001.

Key Dates

  • 1

    In an agreement that excludes the Afghan government, the Taliban and the US sign the Doha Accord, under which Washington commits to a full withdrawal of troops within 14 months.

    Timeline Image Feb. 29, 2020

  • 2

    Newly elected President Joe Biden announces all US troops will leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the start of “the forever war.”

    Timeline Image April 14, 2021

  • 3

    Taliban launch major offensive.

    Timeline Image May 1, 2021

  • 4

    Taliban seize Kabul; government of President Ashraf Ghani collapses.

    Timeline Image Aug. 15, 2021

  • 5

    Suicide bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport kills 170 Afghan citizens and 13 US military personnel.

    Timeline Image Aug. 25, 2021

  • 6

    Last-remaining US soldiers leave Afghanistan. Taliban declare victory.

According to Brown University’s Costs of War project, 20 years of war in Afghanistan claimed the lives of more than 168,000 Afghans, including 69,000 members of the national police and military, and 46,000 civilians.

Despite the loss of more than 6,000 American lives and after spending trillions of dollars on the conflict, the US had handed power back to the very group it drove out 20 years earlier.

In the center of Kabul, banks and businesses closed, fearing looting, but the Taliban swiftly managed to stop any threat of plundering. The group also quickly announced the reestablishment of its Islamic Emirate, rather than the formation of a broad-based government as agreed in the Doha deal.

At Kabul airport, diplomats, some of their local employees and foreign aid workers were flown out of the country on US and other foreign military aircraft.

Fearful for the future of Afghanistan under Taliban rule and the return of civil war, tens of thousands of residents mobbed the airport amid false rumors that aircraft were waiting to transport Afghans who wanted to leave the country.




Commanding General US Central Command Kenneth F. McKenzie touring an evacuation control center at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, on August 17,2021. AFP

As evening approached, a human tide broke through barriers and flooded onto the runway. In chaotic scenes, broadcast around the world, some desperate people tried to cling to aircraft as they took off. On Aug. 16, a young dentist fell to his death from a plane, his remains found on a rooftop four miles from the airport. A teenage soccer player similarly died after plummeting from a US aircraft.

In the days that followed, the Taliban, who had promised to be more lenient and inclusive than they had been during their previous rule, began imposing curbs and draconian policies. Billboards depicting women were defaced or torn down, Afghan flags were lowered, cafes stopped playing music, and a few restaurants run by women were closed. Demonstrations by women protesting against the Taliban’s actions were suppressed.

On Aug. 26, a suicide bomber, later identified as a member of Daesh, killed 170 Afghans and 13 US troops at the airport. Five days later, on Aug. 31, the US completed its full withdrawal from Afghanistan.




US Marine and a child spray water at each other during the evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August 21. US Marine Corps

Since then, the Taliban have continued to impose tough restrictions, particularly on women, who are barred from education above grade 6, attending university, and most public jobs. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled the country, seeing no future there.

Meanwhile, the Taliban government faces ever-deepening international isolation, signs of internal divisions, and growing local frustration with its fundamentalist policies.

In addition, Afghanistan might not yet be free of foreign intervention. Although the policy of the new US administration toward the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is not yet entirely clear, on Feb. 1, President Donald Trump repeated a preelection threat that America would reclaim Bagram Airbase.

  • Sayed Salahuddin is an Afghan journalist based in Canada who covered the rise of the Taliban in 1996, the US invasion and the fall of Kabul in 2021.


Saudi FM arrives in Madrid for talks on Gaza crisis and two-state solution conference

Saudi FM arrives in Madrid for talks on Gaza crisis and two-state solution conference
Updated 1 min 37 sec ago
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Saudi FM arrives in Madrid for talks on Gaza crisis and two-state solution conference

Saudi FM arrives in Madrid for talks on Gaza crisis and two-state solution conference
  • Upcoming conference will be co-chaired by the Kingdom and France

MADRID: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Madrid on Saturday to take part in an expanded ministerial meeting convened by the committee formed during the Extraordinary Joint Arab-Islamic Summit on developments in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The meeting, which includes representatives from the Madrid Group and several European nations, will address the latest developments in both Gaza and the West Bank, with a focus on efforts to halt the ongoing conflict and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Discussions will also include preparations for a high-level international conference on the two-state solution, set to take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York this June.

The upcoming conference will be co-chaired by the Kingdom and France.


WWF-Pakistan hails community-led efforts to protect markhor on international awareness day

WWF-Pakistan hails community-led efforts to protect markhor on international awareness day
Updated 25 min 44 sec ago
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WWF-Pakistan hails community-led efforts to protect markhor on international awareness day

WWF-Pakistan hails community-led efforts to protect markhor on international awareness day
  • Markhors are large wild goats native to the mountainous regions of South and Central Asia
  • They are Pakistan’s national animal and are currently listed as ‘Near Threatened’ by IUCN

KARACHI: A leading conservation group in Pakistan on Saturday praised local communities for helping protect the endangered markhor species, saying people’s efforts had reversed population decline and expanded habitat ranges, as the country marked the International Day of the Markhor.

Markhors are large wild goats native to the mountainous regions of South and Central Asia, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and parts of the Himalayan range. They are Pakistan’s national animal and are currently listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network, due to habitat loss, poaching and human disturbance.

The World Wide Fund for Nature’s Pakistan office (WWF-Pakistan) credited close coordination between communities, conservationists and government departments in regions such as Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan for positive conservation outcomes.

“Through capacity-building programs and engagement of local communities in conservation initiatives, a positive population trend has been observed in the markhor species,” it said in a statement.

Observed annually on May 24, the International Day of the Markhor was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2024 to raise awareness of the species’ ecological importance and the need for its protection.

“Conservation is not just about saving a species, but it is about preserving our shared future in harmony with nature,” said Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General of WWF-Pakistan.

The organization noted the International Day of the Markhor was an opportunity to recognize the ecological value of mountain landscapes, raise awareness of conservation challenges and honor the communities that helped pull the species back from the brink of extinction.


Lando Norris shrugs off gremlins with record lap for Monaco pole

Lando Norris shrugs off gremlins with record lap for Monaco pole
Updated 5 min 26 sec ago
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Lando Norris shrugs off gremlins with record lap for Monaco pole

Lando Norris shrugs off gremlins with record lap for Monaco pole
  • 25-year-old Briton clocked a best lap in one minute and 9.954 seconds to outpace local hero and last year’s winner Charles Leclerc

MONACO: Lando Norris shrugged off his gremlins and revived his world championship bid on Saturday when he became the fastest driver in the history of the Monaco Grand Prix to claim pole position for Sunday’s classic race.

Driving with impeccable judgment, pace and purpose, the 25-year-old Briton clocked a best lap in one minute and 9.954 seconds to outpace local hero and last year’s winner Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 0.109.

It was the first time any driver had lapped the sinuous barrier-lined Mediterranean street circuit in less than 70 seconds and came only seconds after Leclerc had appeared to have secured his fourth Monaco pole position.

For Norris it was his first Monaco pole, his second this year and the 11th of his career — and a critical advantage for the slowest and shortest circuit of the season where only 10 drivers have won from lower than third on the grid since 1950.

While a disappointed Leclerc lamented traffic that hampered his first flying run, affecting his overall rhythm, Norris was buoyant after ending a dismal run in qualifying and falling 13 points behind McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ title race.

“The team has done a fantastic job so thank you to everyone here and back at the factory,” he said. “These days don’t come easy and I am proud to give something back to them.

“It’s been a long time coming. I feel good and I don’t think you realize how good this feels with quite a few struggles over the last couple of months, especially here in Monaco. It’s a beautiful place and the hardest track probably to do it.

“Up against the home-town hero (Leclerc), I’m very proud of the whole team so I am pleased after all the hard work in the last few months.”

Norris’s McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri was third ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Ferrari, four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull and remarkable rookie Isack Hadjar of RB.

Norris agreed that his mentality had been a key part of his success after admitting to self-doubts in recent weeks.

“Honestly, that’s the tricky part and to consistently find a lap time because you know it’s what the others are going to be doing and improving more and more.

“You’ve got to take a similar amount of risks, but when you get to Q3, the final lap is just about who can risk a little bit more and commit a little bit more.

“It was a nice and well put together lap and it feels very good when you cross the line and you know it’s all paid off.”

He said he had not considered the mandatory two pit-stops strategy required on Sunday.

“Honestly, at the minute, I have no idea. I’m going to enjoy today and I’ve worked hard for today. I’m happy with qualifying and I’m going to live the moment a little bit and then I will focus on tomorrow.”

Team-mate Piastri, who leads him by 13 points after seven of this year’s 24 races, admitted he had endured a messy two days of practice and qualifying.

“I think I’ve hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career so it’s been untidy. I’ve been struggling to get into the groove a little bit and I think in qualifying I was much happier with things and I felt pretty good.

“We’ve been doing some digging this weekend and to come out with this result is a decent effort.”

He added: “We’re in good positions, but it’s still going to be an exciting race tomorrow with the two-stop so let’s see what happens.”

Last year’s winner and local hero Leclerc said: “I’m just frustrated. We know we don’t have the car for wins this year.”


Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs meets US delegation in Riyadh

Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs meets US delegation in Riyadh
Updated 40 min 43 sec ago
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Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs meets US delegation in Riyadh

Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs meets US delegation in Riyadh
  • Two sides review relations between countries, regional, international developments 

RIYADH: Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met a delegation from the US House of Representatives on Saturday at the ministry’s headquarters in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The delegation was headed by Michael Lawler, member of Congress and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee.

The two sides reviewed the long-standing relations between Saudi Arabia and the US, and also discussed key regional and international developments, as well as issues of mutual concern, the SPA added.

The meeting followed the visit of US President Donald Trump to the Kingdom earlier this month and reflects ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two nations.


Djokovic becomes third man to win 100 ATP titles with Geneva victory

Djokovic becomes third man to win 100 ATP titles with Geneva victory
Updated 32 min 29 sec ago
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Djokovic becomes third man to win 100 ATP titles with Geneva victory

Djokovic becomes third man to win 100 ATP titles with Geneva victory
  • The 38-year-old recovered from losing the first set to clinch a 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2) win
  • “I had to work for it, that’s for sure,” said Djokovic, who is the first man to win titles in 20 consecutive years

GENEVA: Novak Djokovic became just the third man to win 100 ATP titles with a typically dramatic comeback victory over Hubert Hurkacz in the final of the Geneva Open on Saturday.

The 38-year-old, playing in Switzerland in a bid to find form ahead of the French Open, recovered from losing the first set to clinch a 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2) win after three hours and five minutes on court.

Djokovic joins Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the only players with a century of tour titles.

“I had to work for it, that’s for sure. He was probably closer to the victory the entire match than me,” said Djokovic, who is the first man to win titles in 20 consecutive years.

“I was just trying to hang in there... this is what happens at this level. A few points decide it, an incredible match... and I’m delighted to clinch the 100 here.”

It was the former world number one’s first tournament triumph since clinching his maiden Olympic gold medal against Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Games last summer.

Djokovic had lost both of his previous matches on clay this season prior to the Geneva tournament, against Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi at the Monte Carlo and Madrid Masters respectively.

But he decided to play at the low-key clay-court event in a bid to find form ahead of the start of the year’s second Grand Slam event on Sunday at Roland Garros, where the Serb will be targeting a record-breaking 25th major singles trophy.

It was Djokovic’s first tournament since splitting from coach and old rival Andy Murray, but he showed no ill-effects.

Poland’s former world number six Hurkacz, now ranked 31st, is still waiting for his first title since April 2024.

“It’s really inspiring how you conduct yourself on and off the court,” Hurkacz said to Djokovic.

The three-time Roland Garros champion starts his French Open campaign against American Mackenzie McDonald on either Monday or Tuesday.

After a tight start, Djokovic saw two break points come and go in the fifth game as Hurkacz battled to keep the first set on serve.

The opener appeared to be meandering toward a tie-break until Djokovic cracked in game 12, following a loose forehand at deuce with a double-fault on set point to give Hurkacz a one-set advantage.

Hurkacz dug deep to secure a hard-fought hold to kick off the second set, staving off another break point.

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first, but this time Djokovic was able to hold at 6-5 down to force a tie-break with an ace.

The Serb found his groove in the breaker, reeling off four straight points to send the match into a deciding set.

But Djokovic immediately gave up his serve in the first game of the third set, serving a double-fault when 40-30 up and then blasting a backhand long on break point.

Hurkacz then reeled off three successive holds to love to edge toward the title, only to crumble in the eighth game of the decider with two unforced errors and a double-fault to gift Djokovic a way back into the final.

The Pole gathered himself to secure a deciding tie-break in a tense 12th game.

But he crumbled at the crucial moments with back-to-back errors from 3-2 behind in the breaker, leaving Djokovic to reach yet another milestone in his illustrious career with an ace.