Kabul airport reopens as additional US troops land

Washington [US], August 17 (ANI): Afghanistan’s Kabul airport has reopened as the first C-17 landed with US Marines on board, an official said on Monday.

“By the end of the day, we expect nearly 3,000-3,500 total troops on the ground. As of 1535 local time, the airfield was opened for operations. Shortly after, the first C-17 landed with US Marines on board. The next C-17 is preparing to land as we speak,” Major General Hank Taylor, a logistics specialist on the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing in Washington.

“Our Troops are trained professionals. They understand the complexity, urgency and importance of their mission. They remain agile. Our mission was, and still is today to secure the airport so that we can evacuate US citizens, SIVs and Afghans at risk out of the country,” he added.

“More than 700 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants have departed Afghanistan in the past 48 hours by a combination of contract and commercial air, bringing the total to nearly 2,000,” Taylor said. At least 10 people were killed and several were injured at Kabul airport in the last two days as thousands tried to catch flights in an attempt to flee the country soon after the Taliban captured Kabul.

On Sunday, as the terror group seized Kabul, thousands of people rushed to the airport to flee the country. Officials believe that people were misinformed about the availability of flights at the airport. (ANI)