- The US military has carried out a mission to rescue the Americans outside the Kabul airport.
- The Pentagon stated that there have been at least two cases involving “rotating planes”, implying that there are other cases.
- The decision to perform these tasks is made by the local commander.
The Pentagon said on Thursday that the U.S. military has conducted multiple rescue missions outside the Kabul airport to help Americans trapped in the city reach the airport where the evacuation operation is underway.
President Joe Biden, who has faced sharp criticism for developments in Afghanistan, Publicly stated on Friday that the U.S. military left the airport to rescue 169 Americans.
The Pentagon provided more details, explaining that three CH-47 Chinook helicopters picked up the Americans at the Baron Hotel about 650 feet from the airport. CNN report.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby revealed in an interview with reporters on Monday that there are other tasks, but declined to provide any important details.
Kirby said: “Sometimes, where there is a need and have the ability to meet the demand, our ground commanders will do what they think needs to be done to help Americans get to the airport,” he pointed out that such tasks are “irregular.” “And the US military personnel are not “patrolling the streets of Kabul.”
He said: “There is at least one example where rotary airlift is used to help Americans enter the airport from outside the airport.”
“We will go out to help the Americans as needed,” Kirby said, adding that although he only mentioned two missions, both involving helicopters, “but this doesn’t mean that this is the sum of all the things we try to do. Bring and assist the Americans to come in.”
Kirby explained that the U.S. military is “using various methods” to assist Americans trying to reach the airport through difficult-to-reach gates, but he said he would not “explain all of this in detail because the threat environment is so high.”
A Pentagon spokesperson stated that there was “no coordination” with the Taliban during the air operations. It is still unclear when the mission mentioned by Kirby took place.
After two decades of war, Afghanistan became the Taliban, which made the United States and its NATO allies scramble to evacuate not only their own people, but also their Afghan partners at Hamid Karzai International Airport.
People trying to reach the airport encountered large crowds, hostile Taliban militants and sporadic violence.
Since August 14—just the day before the full-scale Taliban offensive reached the Afghan capital and triggered the evacuation of tens of thousands of people—the United States has helped evacuate approximately 37,000 people, but thousands of people still need evacuation support.
