The Latest: Australia evacuated more than 1,600 from Kabul

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said that Australia has helped evacuate much than 1,600 radical from the Kabul airdrome successful 17 flights since past Wednesday.

“We person achieved this by moving precise intimately with the United States and the United Kingdom, among different nations,” Andrews told Parliament connected Tuesday.

The evacuated radical see Australian citizens, Afghan nationals who had worked for the Australian authorities during the 20-year struggle and different countries’ nationals. The Australian authorities has not said however galore radical it planned to evacuate from Afghanistan.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison had earlier said Australian and New Zealand officials had evacuated much than 650 radical from the airdrome implicit Monday night.

Morrison said that 5 flights had near the airdrome successful the busiest time of Australian engagement successful evacuations since the Taliban took power of the country. One of the flights was a New Zealand subject aircraft.

Morrison told Nine Network tv that the evacuated radical included Australians, New Zealanders and Afghans.

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MORE ON THE CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN:

— G-7 grapples with Afghanistan, an afterthought not agelong ago

— Taliban takeover prompts fears of a resurgent al-Qaida

— US troops surge evacuations retired of Kabul but threats persist

— Deadly gunfire astatine airport; Taliban importune connected US pullout date

— UK struggles for power arsenic Afghan situation strains US ties

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

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BOCA RATON, Florida — Senior U.S. subject officials successful Afghanistan accidental U.S. Special Operations retrieved 16 American citizens from extracurricular the Kabul airdrome aboriginal Monday morning.

The subject officials would not item wherever successful Afghanistan the Americans were rescued from but they said it was astir 2 hours extracurricular the Hamid Karzai International Airport. The Americans were brought backmost to Kabul for evacuation processing.

The officials, who commented lone connected information of anonymity to sermon subject operations, said the rescue missions that spell beyond the walls of the Kabul airdrome necessitate the support of a four-star serviceman and are handled connected a case-by-case basis.

On Monday, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the U.S. subject had launched astatine slightest 1 further rescue by chopper but declined to connection further details. It’s unclear if Kirby was referring to Monday’s peculiar operations ngo oregon a abstracted flight.

“On occasion, arsenic needed, our commanders person the authorization they request to usage their assets and their forces to assistance assistance Americans who request to get to the airport, get to the airport, connected a case-by-case basis,” said Kirby.

The Associated Press archetypal reported connected the sortie flights extracurricular Kabul airdrome connected Friday. The officials would not item wherever these airlift sites were for information reasons.

In a video league past week, President Biden and White House officials spoke with commanders successful Afghanistan astir sortie formation missions extracurricular the Kabul Airport. The president said helium wanted to debar a “Black Hawk Down’” incident, according to U.S. subject officials connected the league telephone and briefed connected what was said.

U.S. subject officials described President Biden’s demeanor arsenic calm and pleasant during discussions astir the advancement that had been made successful evacuating some Americans and Afghan nationals. Biden negatively commented connected however rapidly the Afghan authorities fell isolated and told commanders helium wanted them to beryllium focused connected beefing up information astatine Hamid Karzai International Airport.

On Sunday, the AP reported that imaginable Islamic State threats against Americans successful Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. subject to make caller plans to get evacuees to the airdrome successful Kabul. U.S. Central Command connected Monday said an speech of gunfire astatine the airdrome broke retired astatine the northbound gross of the Kabul Airport. No U.S. oregon conjugation forces were hurt, but 1 subordinate of the Afghan information forces was killed. The Pentagon said they bash not cognize astatine the infinitesimal if the gunman was a subordinate of the Taliban oregon ISIS.

Last week, the Defense Department publically disclosed that 3 Army chinooks picked up 169 Americans conscionable extracurricular the walls of the Kabul Airport. The AP besides reported that a chopper from the 82nd Airborne Division airlifted Afghans from Camp Sullivan, adjacent the Hamid Karzai International Airport.

— By James LaPorta

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