In the largest evacuation effort since the full US and allied forces withdrawal on August 31, Qatar Airways charter flight with 236 passengers has left the Taliban-controlled Kabul airport to Qatar, Reuters reports
The forth Qatar Airways flight, comes a month after the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan for the first time since 2001, was carrying more than 200 Americans and also included Afghan civilians and citizens from Canada, Germany Belgium, France and other European countries, Qatar Foreign Minister Lolwah Alkhater said on Sunday.
Another Qatari official underlined Qatar will continue its collaboration with international partners to ensure freedom of movement in Afghanistan and on efforts towards more general progress in the country.
Being a close ally to both US and the Taliban, Qatar is also home to the largest US military base in the Middle East and has been hosting a Taliban political office for eight years.
Previously on Saturday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price informed that a Qatar Airways charter flight departed Kabul on Friday with 28 US citizens and seven US permanent residents as part of the US efforts to evacuate approximately 100 remaining American citizens who stayed in Afghanistan following the US pullout from the country.
According to the White House, 21 American citizens were evacuated from Afghanistan on September 10, 19 of which were evacuated on a Qatar Airways flight and two more have opted for an overland route along with 11 US permanent residents.
Another flight on September 10 has evacuated 10 American citizens and 11 US permanent residents.
Price has expressed the US gratitude to Qatari authorities who helped coordinate the flights and has commended the Taliban’s cooperation on these flights, stressing that US will continue evacuating US citizens and Afghans affiliated with the US government .
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