How many Americans are left in Afghanistan?
As the United States facilitates the transfer of thousands of Afghanistan evacuees to Qatar and other US military installations, the State Department said Thursday that a majority of the remaining Americans have taken steps to leave.
The United States has heard from an additional 500 people claiming to be Americans who are in need of evacuation from Afghanistan, the State Department said Thursday, hours after twin explosions killed dozens of people outside Kabul’s international airport.
Facing an end-of-month troop withdrawal deadline, the United States since mid-August has airlifted tens of thousands of Americans and Afghans from Kabul’s international airport to US military installations, including the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
On Thursday, a State Department spokesperson said the United States is in contact with roughly 1,000 Americans believed to remain in the Taliban-controlled country, the vast majority of whom say they’ve taken steps to leave.
Of that group, "We believe many, if not most, of these individuals are nearly or already out of the country,” said the spokesperson. “And, we know that dozens more do not wish to leave Afghanistan for a range of reasons.”
