US sending troops into Afghanistan to help evacuate embassy staff
By ROBERT BURNS, MATTHEW LEE and ELLEN KNICKMEYER, Associated Press Aug 12, 2021 Updated 5 min ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — With security rapidly deteriorating in Afghanistan, the United States is evacuating some personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, and U.S. troops will be assisting at the Kabul airport, officials said Thursday.
The decision to reduce staffing levels at the embassy was announced by State Department spokesman Ned Price. He said diplomatic work will continue at the embassy.
U.S. troops are being brought into Afghanistan to provide additional ground and air support for the processing and security of Americans being sent to the Kabul airport, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss military details that had not yet been made public.
The move suggests a lack of confidence by the Biden administration in the Afghan government's ability to provide sufficient diplomatic security in the capital as the Taliban mount an offensive that has rapidly conquered key cities in recent days.
The Pentagon had kept about 650 troops in Afghanistan to support U.S. diplomatic security, including at the airport. The official said an unspecified additional number of troops, as well as aircraft, are to be brought in to assist with the embassy drawdown.
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