Deportation flight departs from Germany for Afghanistan

For the first time since the Taliban retook power, a deportation flight to Afghanistan took off from Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport on Friday morning, the regional interior ministry said.

A Qatar Airways charter jet carrying 28 Afghan offenders who were brought from various states departed from Leipzig, the biggest city in the state of Saxony, for Kabul at 6:56 am (0456 GMT).

The operation was organized by Germany's federal Interior Ministry.

Germany does not maintain diplomatic relations with the Taliban rulers in Kabul.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that following the deadly knife attack in Mannheim at the end of May, the deportation of the most dangerous criminals and terrorist suspects to Afghanistan and Syria would be made possible again.

Individuals suspected by security authorities of being capable of the most serious politically motivated crimes, including terrorist attacks, are included in this decision.

The debate has been reignited by last week's deadly knife attack in the western city of Solingen that left three people dead, where the main suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian man who is believed to have evaded a deportation order.