About 200 foreigners, including Americans, fly out of Kabul
India TV NewsAn estimated 200 foreigners, including Americans, left Afghanistan on a commercial flight out of Kabul on Thursday with the cooperation of the Taliban — the first such large-scale departure since U.S. forces completed their frantic withdrawal over a week ago. Ten U.S. citizens and 11 green-card holders made Thursday’s flight, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. In the U.S., National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said that Thursday’s flight was the result of “careful and hard diplomacy and engagement” and that the Taliban “have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort.” “This is a positive first step,” she said, adding that the U.S. will continue trying to extract Americans and Afghan allies who want to leave. The interpreter said he was one of many former U.S. employees whose special visas the United States approved in the last weeks of the American military presence in Afghanistan. “I never believe them, because they are lying.” Afghanistan war veteran Matt Zeller, who founded the organization No One Left Behind to help Afghans who supported American troops, said he does not believe it is possible for applicants to the special immigrant visa program to get a visa without an embassy in Kabul.