DOD: 22K people evacuated from Afghanistan since end of July


ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 17: U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby (R) speaks as Army Major General William Taylor (L) listens during a news briefing at the Pentagon August 17, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. Kirby held a news briefing to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the capital city of Kabul. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – AUGUST 17: U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby speaks as Army Major General William Taylor listens during a news briefing at the Pentagon August 17, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 12:36 PM PT – Saturday, August 21, 2021

Pentagon officials announced that 17,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan in the past week. During a press briefing on Saturday, Major General Hank Taylor said around 22,000 people have been evacuated since the end of July, including 2,500 Americans.

However, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the U.S. is fighting against time when it comes to getting as many people out, as fast as they can, before the Aug. 31 deadline in order to end operations. Kirby also noted the situation is a non-combatant evacuation, but acknowledged it could change.

“It changes almost by the hour and it changes in locations around the airport. It’s very dynamic, and so I don’t want to speak for the State Department, obviously. But like our military commanders, they are going to make decisions in real time about what’s in the best interest of innocent civilians that need to get to the airport,” said Kirby.

According to Gen. Taylor, around 5,800 troops remain on the ground, securing the Kabul airport for evacuation operations.

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