US has 5,800 troops at Kabul airport to help with evacuations: Official

There are currently about 5,800 US troops at the airport in Kabul to help with evacuation efforts, a US official said on Friday.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered about 6,000 troops to Kabul, a number that is expected to be reached in the coming days.

NATO on Friday called on the Taliban to allow people being evacuated to leave Afghanistan and vowed that the allies would remain in “close coordination” while operations continue.

The joint declaration by NATO’s 30 member countries was made following an emergency videolink conference of their foreign ministers to discuss evacuation efforts and the next steps to take.