The U.S. and allied countries are "working around the clock" to evacuate people from Afghanistan ahead of next week's scheduled full United States military withdrawal from the country, per the New York Times.
The big picture: President Biden said Tuesday that over 70,000 people had been evacuated since the airlift began on Aug. 14 and that the U.S. and its allies were on pace to pull out from Afghanistan by the deadline. He's suggested that U.S. troops may remain beyond Aug. 31 to continue to help in evacuation efforts.
Afghan refugees are greeted by family living in the U.S. as they depart from a processing center for refugees evacuated from Afghanistan at the Dulles Expo Center on Aug. 24, 2021 in Chantilly, Virginia. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Refugees disembark from an evacuation flight after being airlifted from Kabul, at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base, near Madrid, Spain on Aug. 24. Photo: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP via Getty Images
Indian and Afghan evacuees from Kabul are escorted by members police to a bus bound for a quarantine center upon arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, on Aug. 24. Photo: T. Narayan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A plane takes off from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 24. Photo: Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
People who want to flee the country continue to wait around Kabul's airport on Aug. 24. Photo: Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A satellite image of packed scenes at Kabul's airport on Aug. 23 Photo: Maxar Technologies