US calls Taliban 'professional' after flight departs Kabul with Americans

WASHINGTON

The US said the Taliban were "businesslike and professional" after they allowed the first charter flight carrying foreigners, including American nationals and permanent residents, to depart the country on Thursday.

The Qatar Airways flight "has safely landed" in Doha, according to National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne. She said it marks a "positive first step" with the group the US had been at war with for two decades.

"The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA," she said in a statement, referring to Hamid Karzai International Airport.

"We will continue these efforts to facilitate the safe and orderly travel of American citizens, lawful permanent residents, and Afghans who worked for us and wish to leave Afghanistan," added Horne.

Horne did not specify the exact number of people who were onboard the flight, but reports indicated it was roughly 200.

The plane had been blocked from departing Afghanistan by the Taliban after they assumed control of the country in a military offensive that ousted the US-backed internationally-recognized government. A 300,000-strong force trained and equipped by NATO collapsed in the face of the sprawling Taliban campaign.

Thursday's flight was the first to leave Kabul since foreign countries, including the US, concluded evacuation missions they dramatically escalated after the Taliban completed their takeover on Aug. 15.

Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, Kabul has been swarmed by people seeking a way out of the country, many of them civilians who worked with foreign forces or groups and now fear retribution.

About 6,000 American citizens and lawful permanent residents have been pulled out from Afghanistan, according to the Biden administration. The White House pegged the number of those who remain in the war-torn country at roughly 100.