U.S. sending 1,000 more troops to evacuate embassy staff from Kabul

A closed gate at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

(Image credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

published 15 August 2021

With Taliban fighters now in Kabul, the Pentagon is sending an addition 1,000 troops to Afghanistan's capital in order to evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel.

Taliban militants, fresh off of wins in other major cities and provincial capitals, entered Kabul on Sunday, causing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee. Taliban members have settled in the presidential palace, conducting interviews with international journalists from inside.

The U.S. flag has been lowered from the embassy building, The Washington Post reports, and personnel, including acting U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ross Wilson have been moved to Kabul's airport. Before they left the embassy, workers rushed to burn sensitive documents. There are still 4,000 or so embassy staffers — U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals — waiting to fly out of the country, two defense officials told CNN.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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