Biden Says 11,000 Evacuated From Kabul in Less Than 36 Hours This Weekend

By Christina Zhao On 8/22/21 at 4:43 PM EDT

Politics Joe Biden Afghanistan Taliban Kabul

President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. has evacuated approximately 11,000 individuals from Kabul in less than 36 hours over the weekend as he affirmed commitment to ensuring the return of all Americans who want to leave Afghanistan.

"In one 24-hour period this weekend, 23 U.S. military flights, including 14 C-17s, nine C-130 flights, left comfortably carrying 3,900 passengers," he said in a live briefing to the public. "We see no reason why this template will not be kept up. During the same period, our military facilitated another 35 charter flights carrying an additional 4,000 evacuees to other countries that are taking them out."

"Altogether we lifted approximately 11,000 people out of Kabul in less than 36 hours. It's an incredible operation," the president added. "Our first priority in Kabul is getting American citizens out of the country as quickly and as safely as possible."

The U.S. has evacuated 28,000 individuals from Afghanistan over the past eight days and a total of 33,000 individuals since July.

This is a developing story

Biden Afghanistan Kabul evacuations 11,000 U.S. Taliban — President Joe Biden gestures as delivers remarks on the U.S. military’s ongoing evacuation efforts in Afghanistan from the East Room of the White House on August 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Wakil Kohsar/Getty Images

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