Official: U.S. helped 4 Americans leave Afghanistan via overland route

For the first time since the late August withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the government helped four American citizens leave the country via an overland route, a senior State Department official told CNN Monday.

The official said as the Americans "crossed the border into the third country," they were greeted by "our Embassy." Reporters traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday were told the Americans are all in "good condition," and the Taliban did not try to stop their exit.

President Biden and Blinken have said that any Americans still in Afghanistan who want to leave the country will get help from the U.S. government, and the Taliban has told U.S. officials if citizens have the proper travel documents, they will be able to get out. There are about 100 Americans in Afghanistan, White House chief of staff Ron Klain told CNN on Sunday, and the government is "going to find ways to get them — the ones who want to leave — to get them out of Afghanistan."

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters last week that after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the U.S. military and allies were able to evacuate more than 124,000 civilians and 6,000 American citizens from the country.