Scenes of chaos have emerged this week from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, where thousands of people have been attempting to flee Afghanistan following the recent Taliban takeover and the collapse of the government. U.S. officials say they are racing to evacuate as many people from the country as possible before the end of the month, when American troops are scheduled to withdraw after two decades of occupation.
A baby is handed over to the U.S. Army over the perimeter wall of the airport in Kabul. (Omar Haidari/Reuters)
President Biden said Friday that 13,000 people, including Americans and Afghans who have applied for so-called special immigrant visas or SIVs, have been evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, and approximately 18,000 total have been removed from the country since late July.
An Afghan child sleeps on the cargo floor of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation flight. (U.S. Air Force/1st Lt. Mark Lawson/Handout via Reuters)
The Biden administration has reportedly estimated that the number of Americans in Afghanistan is between 10,000 and 15,000. There are also more than 80,000 Afghans who are believed to be seeking to evacuate, including more than 20,000 translators and others who worked with the U.S. military and have applied for Special Immigrant Visas.
A boy at an Evacuee Control Checkpoint at Hamid Karzai International Airport. (U.S. Marine Corps/Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla/Handout via Reuters)
After hastening the removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan this month, the Biden administration was forced to ramp up the U.S. military presence in Kabul over the last few days in an effort to expedite the evacuation process before the final pullout.
U.S. Marines escort evacuees at the airport in Kabul. (Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara/USMC/UPI/Shutterstock)
As of Friday, Taylor said there were now 5,800 total troops on the ground with the capacity evacuate between 5,000 and 9,000 people out of Kabul per day. The exact number, however, depends on how many eligible people are able to make it onto the airfield, he said.
Evacuees board a flight in Kabul. (Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara/USMC/UPI/Shutterstock)
The U.S. evacuation efforts are reliant on cooperation from the Taliban, who, officials have said, are facilitating safe passage to the airport for American citizens. However, there have been many reports that Afghan citizens seeking to evacuate have encountered harassment and violence from Taliban forces.
Afghan people in a U.S. military aircraft preparing to leave Afghanistan. (Shakib Rahmani/AFP via Getty Images)
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued an alert Wednesday to people in the Afghan capital, saying it “cannot ensure safe passage” to the airport.
Afghan people line up to board a flight leaving the country. (Shakib Rahmani/AFP via Getty Images)
President Biden has promised not to leave any American citizens behind in Afghanistan, and said Wednesday that could mean keeping troops in the country past his self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31. It remains unclear how many vulnerable Afghans, including thousands of translators and others who worked for the U.S. government, will make it to safety before U.S. troops pull out of the country for good.
A U.S. Marine interacts with children during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport. (U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara/Handout via Reuters)
Evacuees inside a plane leaving Afghanistan. (Shakib Rahmani/AFP via Getty Images)
A U.S. Marine provides water to a child during an evacuation at the airport in Kabul on Friday. (Sgt. Samuel Ruiz/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout via Reuters)
People inside a military aircraft during an evacuation from Kabul on Thursday. (Staff Sgt. Brandon Cribelar/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout via Reuters)
Afghans and Spanish citizens residing in Afghanistan board a military plane as part of their evacuation. (Ministry of Defense of Spain/Handout via Reuters)
U.K., Turkish and U.S. forces assist a child during an evacuation at Kabul's airport on Friday. (Sgt. Victor Mancilla/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout via Reuters)
Afghan citizens pack inside a U.S. Air Force plane to be transported from Hamid Karzai International Airport. (Capt. Chris Herbert/U.S. Air Force via AP)
Evacuees in front of a German Bundeswehr airplane after arriving in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (Bundeswehr via AP)
Turkish citizens evacuate Afghanistan on a Turkish Armed Forces aircraft. (Aykut Karadag/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan board a military plane for evacuation from Kabul. (Ben Shread/UK MOD Crown copyright 2021/Handout via Reuters)
Evacuees from Kabul arrive at Tashkent airport in Uzbekistan. (Marc Tessensohn/Bundeswehr via Getty Images)
A family on a Turkish Armed Forces aircraft during evacuation in Kabul. (Aykut Karadag/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Turkish nationals board a Turkish Air Force plane at Kabul airport. (Turkish Defense Ministry via AP)
A U.S. Marine fist-bumps a child evacuee in Afghanistan. (Lance Cpl. Nicholas Guevara/USMC/UPI/Shutterstock)
Evacuees from Afghanistan board a military aircraft during an evacuation from Kabul on Thursday. (Staff Sgt. Brandon Cribelar/U.S. Marine Corps/Handout via Reuters)
Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting
Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of 'Rust,' a half-dozen camera operators walked off the set to protest working conditions.
Peter Scolari, the prolific television and stage actor who found instant fame and a lifelong friendship with Tom Hanks when the two co-starred in the hit 1980 TV comedy Bosom Buddies, died early Friday morning following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 66. His death was announced by Ellen Lubin Sanitsky at Wright Entertainment. […]
Actor Alec Baldwin was distraught and shocked after fatally shooting a crew member on the set of his latest movie, asking repeatedly why he was given a "hot gun," according to a new report.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff's OfficeA 36-year-old Indiana woman is behind bars after police discovered two people tied up and shackled in her home—one of them “deceased and beyond help.”The woman, identified by Evansville authorities as Heidi Carter, faces a string of charges in connection with the Tuesday night incident, which police say took even them by surprise.It all began after a woman flagged down an Indiana state trooper late Tuesday night, saying she’d stopped by Carter’s home only to fi
YouTube/ABCA family of three found dead on a Northern California hiking trail in August died of heat exposure and possible dehydration, the local sheriff’s office revealed Thursday.“Heat-related deaths are extremely difficult to investigate,” Mariposa County Sheriff Jeremy Briese said at a press conference, citing an official cause of death of “hyperthermia and probably dehydration.”The bodies of John Gerrish, Ellen Chung, and their 1-year-old daughter Muji were found mid-August on the Savage Lu
An investigation has been launched in a New Orleans suburb after a video captured a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy flinging a 4-foot-8 Black woman […]
"They got into a back and forth about 'Jewish space lasers,' " Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin told reporters after the altercation — as Greene says she was criticizing the Capitol riot investigation "witch hunt"
"Perhaps when certain conversations wrap up there will be communications with the family," attorney Steven Bertolino said on "Top Story With Tom Llamas."
Paris Jackson enjoyed Wednesday night’s full moon with her friends and a nearly-naked frolic in nature. The singer chronicled their adventures on Instagram and shared some pretty intimate moments from the ritual. The first image shows Paris and her four friends with their backs to the camera — tops off and their bottoms showing. She […]
