WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Up to 600 members of Afghan security forces are helping provide security at the Kabul airport, the scene of chaotic evacuation efforts, even as the country’s military and government has collapsed, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
U.S. Army Major General William Taylor, with the American military’s Joint Staff, also told a news briefing that there will be more than 4,000 U.S. troops at the airport by the end of the day and that there have not been any “hostile interactions” with the Taliban.
Taylor said between 500 and 600 Afghan security forces were helping with security. Taylor said the aim is to have one flight taking off from the Kabul airport per hour.
Much of Afghanistan’s military crumbled as Taliban forces swept through Afghanistan, culminating with the capture of Kabul and departure of President Ashraf Ghani from the country.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Will Dunham)
