World

The US has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan after the last of its planes took off from Kabul airport. All its service members have now departed, bringing an end to a 20-year campaign that saw more than 2,400 Americans die – as well as tens of thousands of Afghans. General Kenneth F McKenzie announced the

Ten members of one Afghan family were killed following a US drone strike in Kabul, according to relatives. The drone strike on Sunday was aimed at a vehicle carrying “a substantial amount of explosive material” and heading to Kabul airport, US officials said. A military official said the strike had caused “significant secondary explosions”. Zemaray

Multiple rockets fired at Kabul airport have been intercepted by a missile defence system, a US official has told Reuters news agency. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official said up to five rockets were fired, although it was not clear if all were brought down by the defence system. The official said initial

A drone has destroyed a vehicle which was carrying “a substantial amount of explosive material” and heading to Kabul airport, US officials have confirmed. A military official said the strike on Sunday caused “significant secondary explosions”. He added: “US military forces conducted a self-defence unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an

In an otherwise forgettable corner of western Germany, you drive round a corner and find yourself in America, complete with planes, jeeps and a lot of soldiers. Ramstein Air Base is the biggest part of a cluster of American facilities. Together, they make up the biggest community of Americans outside the United States. This is

A US report which says COVID-19 may have started in a laboratory is “not scientifically credible”, China has claimed. The Chinese embassy in Washington also said the report wrongly claims that Beijing is hindering a global investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. US officials said the country’s intelligence community does not believe it

The US has killed an Islamic State “planner” in retaliation for Thursday’s suicide bombing in Kabul. Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for US Central Command, said the US military had conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State member in Afghanistan’s Nangahar Province, which borders Pakistan. The strike killed one person and there were no known

Concerns are mounting that the Taliban has gained access to vast amounts of personal information through former US military and Afghan government databases that could allow them to target civilians. It would be the first time the group has acquired the personal information of Afghan civilians on such a scale. Afghans are also racing to

An organised group of criminals based in East Asia have defrauded job seekers in the UK and worldwide after getting a scam app on to both the Google and Apple app stores. Working with victims who have tried to track down their scammers, Sky News has learnt they were operating from Cambodia, the Philippines and

The UK’s evacuation mission at Kabul’s airport has “a matter of hours” left and no more people will be called forward, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. Mr Wallace told Sky News the effort was into its “final hours” after the closure of the main processing centre at the Baron Hotel near the airport. He

An explosion has taken place outside Kabul airport amid the evacuations of thousands of people from Western nations, the Pentagon has said. The press secretary said the number of casualties was unclear. The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion. Live updates on the situation in Afghanistan as the evacuation

There is a “very high risk of a terrorist attack” against the evacuation operation by the UK, US and other allied forces in Kabul, according to a senior British source. The group that is of most concern is an Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan called Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, the source said. The kind

Lampedusa is an island that is, at once, blessed and cursed by its own position – a speck on the map, part of Italy but actually marooned between North Africa and mainland Europe. Tunisia is only 80 miles from this island. For those wanting to migrate from Africa to Europe, it is a familiar destination.

Britain is actively working to keep an airport open in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of troops, Sky News understands. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after Tuesday’s G7 summit that the number one priority for the West in coming months was to ensure safe passage for people who want to leave Afghanistan after 31 August

The G7 group of nations has agreed a “roadmap” for future engagement with the Taliban and will insist on the “safe passage” of people who want to leave Afghanistan beyond 31 August, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister was speaking after a virtual G7 summit about the evacuation of people from Afghanistan. Mr Johnson

It’s calmer outside the camp. The people, thousands of them, know that the processing that might get them on a flight to the UK can’t happen if there is a return to the chaos of the past few days. In the morning sun, people call to us as we walk, pleading for a pair of

British evacuations out of Afghanistan could not have happened without the US – and an extension depends on G7 talks with Joe Biden tomorrow, the armed forces minister has told Sky News. James Heappey said the mission to fly out thousands of British nationals and Afghans who worked for the British over the past 20

The crisis in Afghanistan is a “pretty fundamental moment” for the special relationship between Britain and the United States, according to British officials. The UK privately complained after Washington chose not to consult London earlier this year before US President Joe Biden made his decision to pull out the majority of his forces from the

It’s only a gate. A big, reinforced iron gate protected by paratroopers, but nevertheless it is just a gate. On one side a rocky drive leads to a complex of apartments and offices and tree-lined streets filled with evacuees. On the other side, it is a vision of misery. There is a dusty, rubbish strewn

The US embassy in Afghanistan has advised American citizens to avoid traveling to Kabul’s airport due to “potential security threats”. Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay is there and reports on what he saw on Saturday morning as thousands of people wait to get inside to be evacuated. The mornings are always challenging on the barricades.