Admin l Tuesday, August 17, 2021
PENTAGON – The United States has deployed 4000 troops to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of effort to evacuate between 700 and 800 Americans. #afghanistan
Army Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor, the Joint Staff’s deputy director for regional operations made the revelation while speaking alongside DOD Press Secretary John F. Kirby at the Pentagon. They said the airport is under U.S. control, and that there are about 4,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Kabul.
The evacuation operation is ramping up, and Kirby and Taylor said the U.S. effort could be airlifting between 5,000 and 9,000 people a day. Taylor said he anticipates one aircraft in and out of the airport each hour.
Throughout the night, nine C-17s arrived at the airport delivering equipment and about 1,000 U.S. troops. Seven C-17s departed with between 700 and 800 passengers including 165 Americans.
The airport is open to military aircraft and limited commercial flights, Taylor said.
