US airlifts 1,200 in 24 hours

Delhi: At least 1,200 persons have been evacuated through Kabul airport in the Afghanistan capital in the past 24 hours on military flights operated by the United States, the White House said on Tuesday.

From 3 AM ET on 8/29 to 3AM ET on 8/30, a total of approximately 1,200 people were evacuated from Kabul. 26 US military flights carried approximately 1,200 evacuees and 2 coalition flights carried 50 people.

The White House also said on Twitter that the US has evacuated 122,300 people from Afghanistan since the end of July.

In a joint statement issued on Sunday, the US and its partner countries had reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring the safe travel of their citizens and at-risk Afghans outside Afghanistan.

"We are all committed to ensuring that our citizens, nationals and residents, employees, Afghans who have worked with us and those who are at risk can continue to travel freely to destinations outside Afghanistan," US State Department said in a joint statement by dozen-odd countries.

The statement added the US and its partner countries have received assurances from the Taliban that all foreign nationals and any Afghan citizen with proper documents will be allowed to proceed to exit the country.

"We will continue issuing travel documentation to designated Afghans, and we have the clear expectation of and commitment from the Taliban that they can travel to our respective countries. We note the public statements of the Taliban confirming this understanding," the statement further read.

This comes as multiple reports have indicated that the Taliban will establish full control over the Kabul airport on Tuesday after the US troops' withdrawal.

The Taliban are engaged in consultations with countries like Turkey and Qatar on technical assistance for operating the airport in Kabul, Al Jazeera reported, citing a top insurgent in the Islamist group.