Afghanistan's national cricket team are among more than 300 passengers on board a chartered civilian flight that departed Kabul for Doha on Thursday (NZ time).
Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah Alkhater tweeted that the team travelled at the request of the Taliban government, so they could take part in a training camp before an "upcoming championship".
This month, the team is due to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Alkhater says there were also citizens from Japan, Belgium, Ireland, Britain, Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Sweden and Canada, among other countries, and Afghan journalists on board.
The chartered Qatari flight was the sixth out of Kabul - and carried the most passengers - since US forces withdrew in August.
A video posted on Twitter by Alkhater showed a Qatar Airways plane taking off from Kabul airport. Qatar, a close US ally, is a key interlocutor between the West and the Taliban.
Reuters
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