The Taliban triumphantly marched into Kabul's international airport on just before dawn on Tuesday, hours after the final US troop withdrawal that ended America's longest war.

Standing on the tarmac, Taliban leaders pledged to secure the country, quickly reopen the airport and grant amnesty to former opponents.

In a show of control, turbaned Taliban leaders were flanked by the group's elite Badri unit as they walked across the tarmac.

The commandos in camouflage uniforms proudly posed for photos.

"Afghanistan is finally free," Hekmatullah Wasiq, a top Taliban official, told The Associated Press on the tarmac.

"The military and civilian side (of the airport) are with us and in control. Hopefully, we will be announcing our cabinet. Everything is peaceful. Everything is safe."

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Header image: Taliban Badri special force fighters arrive at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 31. — AFP