US to send another battalion to clear Kabul airport, working with international forces: Pentagon
Thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport on Monday after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the US military to suspend evacuations as the United States came under mounting criticism at home over its pullout
The Pentagon has said that the US is sending another battalion to secure the Kabul airport.
US forces are working with Turkish and other international troops to clear Kabul airport to allow international evacuation flights to resume, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said, reports the Al Jazeera.
Kirby told a news briefing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had authorised the deployment of another battalion to Kabul that would bring the number of troops guarding the evacuation to about 6,000.
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Thousands of civilians desperate to flee Afghanistan thronged Kabul airport on Monday after the Taliban seized the capital, prompting the US military to suspend evacuations as the United States came under mounting criticism at home over its pullout.
Crowds converged on the airport seeking to escape, including some clinging to a US military transport plane as it taxied on the runway, according to footage posted by a media company.
US troops fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way on to a military flight evacuating US diplomats and embassy staff, a US official said.
Five people were reported killed in chaos at the airport on Monday, although a witness said it was unclear if they had been shot or killed in a stampede. A US official told Reuters two gunmen had been killed by US forces there over the past 24 hours.
The Taliban's rapid conquest of Kabul follows US President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw US forces after 20 years of war that cost billions of dollars.
