US troops step up evacuations out of Kabul but Taliban warns over ‘red line’

Afghans stand in line to be evacuated onto an Italian Airforce C130J plane from Kabul airport, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. Italy on Saturday flew 211 Afghans out of Kabul, bringing to some 2,100 the number of Afghan workers at Italian missions and their families who have been safely evacuated from Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. (Italian Defense Ministry via AP)

The US military has reported its biggest day of airlifts out of Afghanistan so far, but deadly violence that has blocked many desperate evacuees from entering Kabul’s airport persisted and the Taliban signalled they might soon seek to shut down the evacuation.

Twenty-eight US military flights ferried about 10,400 people to safety out of Taliban-held Afghanistan over the 24 hours that ended early on Monday morning, a White House official said.