1,500 Americans Remain in Afghanistan, 4,500 Evacuated: US Official

U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots, assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, load people being evacuated from Afghanistan onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 24, 2021. Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force via AP

Up to 1,500 Americans remain in Afghanistan after some 4,500 have been evacuated, a top U.S. official said on Aug. 25.

Evacuation efforts began on Aug. 14, after the Taliban terrorist group took over the country. On that date, there were as many as 6,000 Americans in Afghanistan who wanted to leave the country, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington.