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US soldiers kill two armed men at Kabul airport: PentagonAmerican troops took control of security at Afghanistan's international airport outside Kabul to enable evacuations of US officials
AFP
Last Updated IST
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows crowds of people at the terminal, during the chaotic scene underway at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan as thousands of people converged on the tarmac and airport runways as countries attempt to evacuate personnel from the city. Credit: AFP Photo/Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies
This handout satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows crowds of people at the terminal, during the chaotic scene underway at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan as thousands of people converged on the tarmac and airport runways as countries attempt to evacuate personnel from the city. Credit: AFP Photo/Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies

US soldiers killed two armed men at Kabul's airport Monday after a top Pentagon general met with the Taliban in Doha to urge them not to attack as thousands sought to flee Afghanistan, a defense official said.

"In the thousands of people who were there peacefully, two guys who had weapons brandished them menacingly. They were both killed," the official said, insisting on anonymity.

The official said that the head of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, told Taliban officials in a face-to-face meeting Sunday in Doha not to attack the airport.

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Thousands of American troops took control of security at Afghanistan's main international airport outside Kabul on Saturday to enable the evacuations of US officials.

Afghans meanwhile massed at the airport and flooded out onto the tarmac seeking to board commerical flights out of the country.

Videos showed hundreds trying to impede the takeoff of a US military transport, and there were reports that several were killed, either being crushed or falling from it after it took off.

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(Published 16 August 2021, 21:28 IST)