A U.S. Marine provides assistance during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, August 22, 2021.
US Marines | Reuters
WASHINGTON – The U.S. military has evacuated approximately 4,000 American passport holders along with their families from Afghanistan, a figure the Pentagon expects to increase as the U.S. wraps up its military operation in the country.
The White House said Tuesday that the U.S. has evacuated or helped to get approximately 58,700 people out of Afghanistan since Aug. 14, with about 21,600 of them airlifted out overnight on Monday. Since the end of July, the U.S. has relocated approximately 63,900 people.
There are still several thousand Americans believed to be awaiting evacuation, according to the State Department.
More than 5,000 U.S. troops are on the ground in Kabul assisting with the emergency evacuation efforts. Nearly 200 aircraft are dedicated to the evacuation effort in some capacity.
President Joe Biden told G-7 leaders during an emergency meeting on Tuesday that he will keep the timeline previously set for the full U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, though the U.S. is also making contingency plans in the event an extension proves necessary.
The White House said in a statement that the U.S. is “currently on pace to finish by August 31st.”
The Pentagon said Monday that evacuees are flying from Kabul to temporary safe-haven locations across the Middle East and Europe, including U.S. installations in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Italy, Spain and Germany.
So far, Afghan nationals arriving in the United States will be housed at either Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, Fort Lee in Virginia, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey or Fort Bliss in Texas.
