US citizens among passengers held on planes in Afghan airport, claims official

An Ariana Afghan Airlines plane lands at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021. Some domestic flights have resumed at Kabul's airport, with the state-run Ariana Afghan Airline operating flights to three provinces. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon)

At least four planes chartered to evacuate several hundred people seeking to escape the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan have been unable to leave the country for days, officials have said.

Conflicting accounts emerged about why the flights were not able to take off from the airport at Mazar-e-Sharif as pressure ramps up on the United States to help those left behind.