Reports show the U.S. military may be beginning its evacuation out of Afghanistan ahead of schedule.
On Thursday, journalist Adam Housley tweeted, “I told you movement was already beginning even tho they were saying the 31st. 82nd Airborne Begins Evacuation Ahead of Schedule.”
I told you movement was already beginning even tho they were saying the 31st. 82nd Airborne Begins Evacuation Ahead of Schedule.
— Adam Housley (@adamhousley) August 26, 2021
Later in the day, however, Free Beacon executive editor Brent Scher tweeted, “U.S. Central Command says evacuation will continue…”
U.S. Central Command says evacuation will continue…
— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) August 26, 2021
Axios reported the timeline of when U.S. allies are expecting to end their evacuation efforts, noting:
Canada’s ended its evacuation operations Thursday, according to acting chief of the defense staff General Wayne Eyre, Reuters reported.
French Prime Minister confirmed Thursday that France’s evacuations would end on Friday evening.
On Tuesday Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton said the country was in the “back end of this campaign now,” even as reports surface of Australian visa holders not being able to enter the Kabul airport, per the Guardian.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo confirmed via Twitter Wednesday night ET that the country had ended its evacuation operations.
Poland also announced Wednesday evening ET that it had completed its last evacuation, according to the Associated Press.
The Czech Republic completed its operations last week, per AP.
Denmark made its final evacuation flight Wednesday, and Hungary ended its evacuations Thursday, per Reuters.
Turkey began evacuating its military troops from Afghanistan Wednesday, a process that will take up to 36 hours, Reuters reported.
Germany also ended its evacuation efforts Thursday, according to Deutsche Welle.
Norway announced Thursday afternoon that it could “no longer assist” with evacuations following explosions at the airport. “The doors at the airport are now closed and it is no longer possible to get people in,” according to Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide.
The outlet tweeted:
When U.S. allies ended — or will end — evacuations from Afghanistan:
🇨🇦 today
🇫🇷 Friday
🇦🇺 nearing end
🇧🇪 yesterday
🇵🇱 yesterday
🇨🇿 last week
🇩🇰 yesterday
🇭🇺 today
🇩🇪 today
🇹🇷 began military evacuations yesterday
🇬🇧 continuing "until the last moment" https://t.co/VxuPQijkEr— Axios (@axios) August 26, 2021
As The Daily Wire reported on Thursday, “At least 12 U.S. service members are dead after multiple explosions went off in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the city’s airport.”
“At least 10 US Service members killed, dozens of Americans wounded in suicide bomb attack at Abbey Gate in Kabul this morning. Death toll of US service members likely to rise: US officials,” Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin tweeted.
The Daily Wire added:
Two explosions rocked Kabul on Thursday, killing dozens and causing numerous injuries as crowds of Afghans and others flocked to the Hamid Karzai International Airport. An earlier report from The Wall Street Journal said that four U.S. Marines were killed in the bombings and multiple more injured.
The bombings too place just outside of the airport on Thursday as throngs of people flocked to the airport seeking evacuation from the largely Taliban-controlled country. One reported ISIS suicide bomber hit one of the airport’s main gates, the Abbey Gate. Another explosion struck just outside of Kabul’s Baron Hotel, which has been a gathering place for Americans waiting to be evacuated from the country.
The total number of injuries remains unclear, though early reports indicate over a dozen dead and dozens injured. The attacks took place hours after multiple NATO countries suspended evacuation operations citing the possibility of a terror attack. Thousands of people seeking extraction have crowded outside the perimeter of the airport in recent weeks. Taliban checkpoints have blocked most from getting through.