US evacuates 6,800 people from Afghanistan in past 24 hrs

The United States (US) has evacuated nearly 6800 people in the past 24 hours from Afghanistan, bringing the total number of evacuees to 1,11,900 since August 14, a top official said on Saturday.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III said in a tweet, "Yesterday, August 27, another 6,800 people were evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport, bringing the total to 1,11,900 since the operation began and August 14." Also read | Tokyo Paralympics: Bhavina Patel scripts history, reaches final of table tennis event The US had said earlier that despite the Kabul blasts, evacuation operations would continue. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki had said that the US flag would be flown at half-mast until the evening of August 30 to honour the victims killed in the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan's Kabul that included US personnel too. Also read | Karnal police lathicharge farmers; leaders call for closure of all highways in Haryana Earlier, US President Joe Biden had termed the evacuation from Afghanistan the 'most difficult and largest airlift' ever in history. He had assured to get all Americans and allies out of the war-torn country. "Kabul evacuation is among the largest and most difficult airlifts in history," Biden had said. Afghanistan's situation is deteriorating as people rush to leave the nation after the Taliban seized control over a week ago. On August 15, the Afghan government fell soon after President Ashraf Ghani left the nation. Countries have been evacuating their citizens from the war-torn nation speedily. The Kabul airport is witnessing a heavy chaos due to instability in the region. - PTC News