- Sputnik International, 1920
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

US Vets Reportedly Volunteer to Take Part in Clandestine Rescue Operations For Afghan Allies

© REUTERS / US MARINESBritish Royal Marine Commandos and U.S. Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit work at an Evacuation Control Center (ECC) during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 18, 2021
British Royal Marine Commandos and U.S. Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit work at an Evacuation Control Center (ECC) during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, August 18, 2021 - Sputnik International, 1920, 29.08.2021
Subscribe
The Taliban has set a deadline of 31 August for all foreign troops to leave Afghanistan, and the United States, along with other countries, is rushing an already chaotic evacuation from the Kabul airport to comply with the demand.
A group of US veterans of the Afghan war has launched a secret rescue operation to help evacuate Afghan allies from the Middle Eastern country, dubbed the 'Pineapple Express', according to a report by ABC News.
"Dozens of high-risk individuals, families with small children, orphans, and pregnant women, were secretly moved through the streets of Kabul throughout the night and up to just seconds before ISIS detonated a bomb into the huddled mass of Afghans seeking safety and freedom," Army Lt. Col. Scott Mann, a retired Green Beret commander leading the private rescue effort, told the outlet.
The group was reportedly inspired because “our own government didn’t do this,” as former Navy SEAL Jason Redman put it.
“We did what we should do, as Americans,” he said.
According to the report, the Pineapple Express mission was ongoing during the deadly Thursday bombings in Kabul, and some travellers were injured.
© REUTERS / US MARINESEvacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport
Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport - Sputnik International, 1920, 07.09.2021
Evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport
The group estimated that it has brought as many as 500 Afghan special operators, assets and enablers and their families to the Kabul airport as of Thursday morning. 
“That is an astounding number for an organization that was only assembled days before the start of operations and most of its members had never met each other in person,” former Green Beret Capt. Zac Lois told ABC.
The hasty massive evacuation in the Hamid Karzai airport in the Afghan capital city is ongoing amid the looming 31 August deadline for withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan - a date the Taliban dubbed a "red line", vowing consequences in the event of non-compliance. 
Amid a chaotic exodus from the war-torn country, the Kabul airport saw several deadly bombings on Thursday - an attack that killed 13 US military personnel and over a hundred Afghan civilians. Responsibility for the attack was claimed by Daesh, with the United States saying on Friday that its military had successfully targeted a terrorist group planner in retaliation for the Kabul bombings.
According to the US president, there are chances that more attacks will be seen in Kabul over the 24-36 hours.
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала