The Pentagon says the US military is ramping up evacuations out of Afghanistan, and that 7,000 civilians have been taken out of the country since August 14.
Army Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor tells reporters that 12 C-17 aircraft departed with 2,000 evacuees over the past 24 hours. Speaking at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday, Taylor said that the military now has enough aircraft to get 5,000-9,000 people out a day, depending on how many have been processed and other factors, such as weather.
There are now about 5,200 US troops at the airport, a number that has been steadily increasing in recent days.
“We are ready to increase throughout,” said Taylor.
His comments came amid ongoing chaos at the Kabul airport, as Afghans and other civilians desperately try to get on flights out of the country in the wake of the Taliban takeover on Sunday.
A civilian charter flight arrives at a British midlands airport (exact location withheld) from Kabul on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. (SAC Samantha Holden RAF via AP)
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