WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says that 2,000 people — including 325 American citizens — were evacuated from Afghanistan in 18 flights over the past 24 hours, just days after the Taliban’s stunningly swift takeover of the country.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. military is still working toward its goal of getting a maximum of 5,000 to 9,000 people out a day.
He said on Wednesday that the U.S. military says it’s talking regularly with the Taliban to help get Afghans into the airport, and also to improve the paperwork process, including for Afghans who have applied for Special Immigrant Visas.
Kirby also said that U.S. troops have fired warning shots along the airport perimeter as a crowd control measure. He said there are now about 4,500 U.S. troops on the ground to secure the airport and help the airlift, and several hundred more are expected to flow in over the next 24 hours.
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