Canadian forces in Kabul ended evacuation efforts for their citizens and Afghans earlier on Thursday, ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline, acting chief of the defense staff General Wayne Eyre said.
"We stayed in Afghanistan for as long as we could ... we wish we could have stayed longer and rescued everyone," Eyre said at a news conference. "That we could not is truly heartbreaking, but the circumstances on the ground rapidly deteriorated."
He said Canada had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of around 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens.
Canada has not had a significant military presence in Afghanistan for seven years.
Eyre said the evacuation mission was extremely dangerous and had faced "significant and dynamic" threats. "Throughout the operation, we received word of multiple imminent attacks," Eyre said.
The United States has said it will respect the Aug. 31 deadline to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and on Thursday urged Afghans to leave the Kabul airport, citing the threat of an attack by Islamic State terrorists.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
"Eye For Eye": Taliban Publicly Executes 2 Murder Convicts In Stadium Afghan Embassy In Delhi To Resume Operations In Few Days: Minister Taliban Defends Record On Women After UN Criticises Curbs On Afghan Women Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms "I Divorce You... Your Ex-Wife": Dubai Princess Dumps Husband In Insta Post Biden Says Could Drop Election Bid If "Medical Condition" Emerged Russia Says It's Ready To Work With Any US Leader 3 People Die After Drowning In Lake In Telangana: Cops Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.