Taliban Sends Warning: Defeating Biden 'Is a Lesson for the World'
Terrorist group gathers at Kabul airport to boast of defeating the West
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After the last U.S. forces left Afghanistan on Monday, the Taliban gathered in Kabul airport to boast about defeating Democrat Joe Biden and send a warning that their victory "is a lesson to the world."
The Taliban celebrated the win and held a news conference on the tarmac as militants dressed in seized U.S. military gear raided the airport for more American weapons, helicopters, and planes that were left behind after the evacuation.
The group's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, addressed the media from Hamid Karzai Airport.
As he spoke, he was flanked by top Taliban officials and their American weaponry-equipped "special forces" units who had seized control of the airstrip just hours earlier.
"Congratulations to Afghanistan... this victory belongs to us all," Mujahid said.
The day is a "big lesson for other invaders and for our future generation" he warned.
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Overnight, fireworks and celebratory gunfire reportedly lit up the night sky over the Afghan capital after it emerged the last US evacuation flight had departed, putting an end to America's longest war.
But hundreds of American and British citizens were left behind, along with thousands of Afghans who provided assistance to their troops on the promise of sanctuary that was ultimately broken.
Many now fear for their lives.
Mujahid insisted today that Taliban security forces will be "pleasant and nice," despite reports already emerging of summary executions and persecution against women reminiscent of the Taliban of old.
Afghanistan is also facing economic collapse as aid organizations cut off funding and foreign banks withhold reserves, while UN agencies warn that food could start running out within a month.
"There's a lot of heartbreak associated with this departure," General Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said on Monday night as a night-vision image of Major General Chris Donahue - the last American troop to leave the country - was released.
"We did not get everybody out that we wanted to get out.
"But I think if we'd stayed another 10 days, we wouldn't have gotten everybody out," he insisted.
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While the international community appears to have accepted the reality of Taliban rule, the UK is vowing to take down the Islamic State, also known as Daesh.
British forces are prepared to launch airstrikes to target so-called Islamic State terrorists in Afghanistan, the head of the RAF indicated as the US-led military presence in the country came to an end.
The group's Afghan offshoot, ISIS-K, carried out the bloody attack on Kabul airport in the final days of the evacuation effort which killed two Britons and the child of a British national, along with 13 US service personnel and scores of Afghans.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the global coalition against the terrorist group was ready "to combat Daesh networks by all means available, wherever they operate."
