Foreign Policy

U.S. diplomats being moved out of embassy in Afghanistan

Helicopters are being deployed.

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

A U.S. Chinook helicopter flies near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Sunday. | Rahmat Gul/AP Photo

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — A U.S. official said Sunday that American diplomats in Afghanistan are being moved from the embassy in Kabul to the airport as the Taliban enter the capital.

The official says military helicopters are shuttling between the embassy compound and the airport, where a core presence will remain for as long as possible given security conditions.

The official was not authorized to discuss diplomatic movements and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Relocating a core group of embassy staff to the airport had been a contingency plan as the Taliban made dramatic territorial gains over the past several weeks before the final withdrawal of U.S. troops by Aug 31.