United States military used helicopters on Tuesday night to bring a group of people from outside of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to the airport for evacuation, said Hank Taylor, US Joint Staff deputy director for regional operations.
"Last night during the period of darkness, there was an operation to be able to go out and safely evacuate evacuees back into Kabul, they were at HKIA, and they are safely there preparing to be evacuated," Taylor said.
Kirby said it was a group of about 20 people who were brought to the airport by helicopter, but would not provide further details about the operation.
This is the third instance that the Pentagon has confirmed of US troops using helicopters to bring people in Kabul outside of the airport gates to the airport for evacuation.
Kirby said it was a group of about 20 people who were brought to the airport by helicopter, but would not provide further details about the operation.
This is the third instance that the Pentagon has confirmed of US troops using helicopters to bring people in Kabul outside of the airport gates to the airport for evacuation.
Lives are always going to be the priority," Kirby told reporters at a Pentagon briefing Wednesday. "As we get closer to the end, there will be some equipment and systems that we will probably take with us as we leave ... but lives will always be the chief priority throughout this entire process," he continued.
Asked by a reporter if that referred to lives of all nationalities, Kirby said: "Lives will always be the priority throughout this process."
Taylor, the vice director for logistics of the Joint Staff, said that the US military and its allied partners have evacuated 19,000 in a 24-hour period.
"Since the US and coalition forces began the evacuation to date, approximately 88,000 have safely departed from Afghanistan. Every 39 minutes yesterday a plane departed Kabul airport."He said that 90 flights total left the Kabul airport yesterday.
He said that there are "more than 10,000 people currently" at the airport awaiting departure.
( With inputs from ANI )
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