Afghanistan evacuation rush: US military planes take off equivalent of every 39 minutes

As the US ramped up its evacuation operation from Kabul airport, the US military said its planes were taking off from Hamid Karzai international airport every "equivalent of every 39 minutes".

At least 19,000 people were evacuated on Tuesday by the US military taking the total tally to over 88,000 people even as several thousand people remain stranded outside the airport perimeter waiting to fly out of the country.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said at least 4,500 American citizens and their families have been evacuated so far, however, thousands of Afghans still remain to be airlifted from the country.

Blinken added that the Taliban had reportedly made a commitment to the US to allow the departure of Americans, "at-risk" Afghans and others even after the August 31 deadline.

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The US secretary of state informed that if people had the right documents could leave after the deadline.

President Biden had set August 31 as the date for the final pullout of US personnel from Afghanistan. The Taliban asserted that there would be "consequences" if the US withdrawal wasn't completed till then warning it was a "red line".

The United Nations has informed at least 3,000 Afghan staff will remain at the mission even as the British foreign office warned of an ongoing terrorist threatat Kabul airport amid the evacuation chaos.

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Meanwhile, US ally Belgium informed that it was ending its operations at Kabul airport after evacuating nearly 1,100 people. European nations Germany, France and UK had earlier said it would not be possible to airlift all personnel including "at-risk Afghans" by August 31.

Amid the evacuation, the US deployed fresh troops at the airport as the Pentagon indicated that the operations would have wind down days in advance if the deadline is to be met.

Taliban spokesman had earlier appealed to skilled Afghans not to leave the country asserting that the country needed "expert" Afghans such as doctors and engineers.

(With inputs from Agencies)