Volleys of celebratory gunfire were heard across the Afghan capital. Taliban fighters were also seen celebrating the US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Members of the Taliban were observed firing off celebratory shots, and overheard cheering in social media footage reportedly captured at, and near the airport.
There’s a lot of gunfire,” a correspondent reported from Kabul in the early hours of Tuesday morning, speaking over the din of small arms popping off in the background. “This gunfire isn’t violent, there are no clashes – in the capital, the Taliban are celebrating.”
Videos capturing barrages of gunfire have circulated online, with shots heard for miles around the Afghan capital as people cheered the American exit.
The Taliban has also joined in on the celebration, with spokesman declaring that “the last American occupier withdrew… and our country gained its full independence.” Earlier, the representative clarified that the “sounds of gunfire in Kabul are shots of joy at the withdrawal of US troops,” assuring Afghans they should not be “worried.”
In the photos, the militants were seen flaunting US-made weapons while in American uniforms after the last US flight took off from the airport. Gunfire and cheers were also reported.
Forsided, 31.08.2021