Biden calls Afghanistan withdrawal an 'extraordinary success' as he defends evacuation mission

President Joe Biden defended his decision to withdraw the US from Afghanistan as he describes the mission as "extraordinary success".

The withdrawal brings the nation’s longest war - in which nearly 50,000 Afghan civilians, 2,500 US service members, and thousands of Afghan military, police and Taliban fighters were killed - to an end.

Biden thanked the “incredible skill, bravery, and selfless courage of the United States military and our diplomats and intelligence professionals.”

He added: "We completed one of the biggest airlifts in history with more than 120,000 people evacuated to safety.”

More than 250 American citizens remain stranded in Afghanistan.