Last German troops return from Afghanistan

The last German soldiers stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, landed at the Wunstorf air base in northern Germany on Friday.

Authorities said they believe about 300 German citizens are still in Afghanistan after the country ended its evacuation flights from Kabul.

The Commander of the Bundeswehr Operations Command, Lieutenant General Erich Pfeffer, thanked the soldiers for their difficult mission in Afghanistan.

"Today is not a day for celebration, given the dramatic situation in Afghanistan. But it is a day to honor the successful evacuation of more than 5,000 people, a day to honor their extremely intensive deployment over nearly two weeks," he said.

The German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called to remember those people who stayed behind, adding that "in a second phase we will do everything we can to get them out of Kabul, out of Afghanistan in the coming days, weeks and months."

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Thursday that Germany is in direct contact with the remaining German citizens on ways to support an "organized departure" from Afghanistan.

He said officials are in talks with the Taliban and others on the possible future civilian use of Kabul Airport and will try to facilitate the departure of endangered Afghans.

Germany plans to beef up staffing at its embassies in neighboring countries.

Maas said he will travel to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan starting Sunday to discuss how to get Afghans quickly and safely from their country’s border to German embassies.

He said Germany will offer those countries support in dealing with the humanitarian fallout of events in Afghanistan.

The German military flew 5,347 people out of Kabul, including more than 4,000 Afghans and some 500 Germans, before ending its evacuation mission on Thursday.