Pentagon aware of reports of IS affiliate on evacuation flight
Press Secretary John Kirby confirmed he had seen press reports that someone affiliated with Islamic State had taken one of the evacuation flights
US defence and military officialsheld a news conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
US Army Maj Gen Hank Taylor, joint staff deputy director for regional operations security, said the focus of the evacuation operation remains to "get as many people out as efficiently and safely as possible," reports the BBC.
He said 42 US military aircraft - 37 C17 and five C130 planes - took 11,200 US personnel and 7,800 personnel from 48 allied partners out of Afghanistan yesterday.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Taylor added a plane departed Kabul airport every 39 minutes.
He said there are more than 10,000 people currently at the airport awaiting departure.
"This is a snapshot in time," he said as more people could arrive at the airport in a bid to leave the country.
At that Pentagon briefing Press Secretary John Kirby has been asked what the end game for the US evacuation from Afghanistan will look like.
He said: "We will continue to evacuate needed populations all the way to the end if we have to and we need to. But in the last couple of days we will begin to prioritise military capability and military resources to move out."
"That doesn't mean if you're an evacuee and you need to get out we are not going to try to get you out."
"We are doing the best we can as fast as we can to move as many people out as we can on any given day. We will continue to evacuate all the way to the end," he added.
Kirby said when the US evacuation mission is over troops will leave the airport and it will no longer be the reponsibility of the US.
"The Taliban will have to manage on their own and I assume with the international community," he said.
The US deadline for leaving is 31 August - Tuesday.
Pentagon aware of reports of IS affiliate on evacuation flight
John Kirby confirmed he had seen press reports that someone affiliated with Islamic State had taken one of the evacuation flights.
He said he had no more information but that screening was being done by the department of homeland security, immigration and intelligence officials as evacuees took onward flights.
Maj Gen Hank Taylor also confirmed there had been a helicopter mission "last night during the period of darkness" that had brought up to 20 evacuees from outside Kabul airport into the complex, where they awaited a flight.
