Taliban hails US departure from Afghanistan, terms it 'historic moment'

Kabul [Afghanistan], August 31 : Taliban has hailed the departure of US troops from Afghanistan, terming it a "historic moment" while declaring that the country is now a "free and sovereign nation".
Speaking to reporters from Hamid Karzai International Airport on Tuesday hours after the US troops left the country, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the victory of his group "belongs to us all", Al Jazeera reported.
"We do not have any doubt that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a free and sovereign nation," he said, adding the Americans "could not achieve their goal through military operations".
He also promised that Afghanistan will have "working diplomatic relations" with the West, vowing that Afghans "will protect our freedom, independence and Islamic values".
The United States forces left Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, marking the end of a chaotic and messy exit from America's longest war.
According to New York Times, five American C-17 cargo jets flew out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Tuesday morning.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed it a beginning of a new chapter of American engagement with Afghanistan.
"It's one in which we will lead with our diplomacy. The military mission is over," he tweeted.
Blinken has announced that the US has suspended diplomatic presence in Kabul and transferred "our operations to Doha, Qatar."