The Taliban is holding six airplanes and “hostage” American citizens and Afghan interpreters at an airport in Afghanistan, Rep. Michael McCaul, the top-ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee claimed in an interview Sunday.
“The Taliban will not let them leave the airport” while the flights have been cleared by the US State Department to depart,” McCaul said.
“In fact, we have six airplanes at (Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport) with American citizens on them as I speak, also with these interpreters, and the Taliban is holding them hostage for demands,” McCaul told host Chris Wallace during an interview on Fox News Sunday.
“They’re not going to allow American citizens to leave until they get full recognition from the United States of America,” McCaul said on Wallace’s question about the Taliban’s demands for allowing the flights to leave,
“The Taliban are not clearing the airplanes to depart,” McCaul continued. “They’ve sat at the airport for the last couple days – these planes – and they’re not allowed to leave.”
“We know the reason why is because the Taliban want something in exchange,” McCaul told host Chris Wallace. “This is really, Chris, turning into a hostage situation where they’re not going to allow American citizens to leave until they get full recognition from the United States of America.”
McCaul also said he received a “classified” exact number of Americans who are still left in Afghanistan, claiming the number is “in the hundreds.”
CBS News reports that they viewed an email from the State Department to members of Congress saying there are charter flights on the ground in Mazar-i-Sharif that the Taliban is preventing from flying until they approve the departure.
Daniel Lippman, reporter to Polito tweeted newly released satellite images show six commercial airplanes at Mazar-i-Sharif airport in northern Afghanistan that are not being allowed to depart by the Taliban. American citizens and Afghan interpreters are reportedly waiting to board the flights.
President Biden said on August 31st that 100 to 200 US citizens remain in Afghanistan. “For the remaining Americans, there is no deadline. We remain committed to getting them out if they want to get out.”
And McCaul said “zero” Americans have been flown out of the country since US troops departed.
Representatives for the White House and the US State Department have yet to provide clarification on McCaul’s claim Sunday.
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