Airlift begins for Afghans who worked for U.S. during long military campaign
By Jonathan Landay
Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some 200 Afghans were set to begin new lives in the United States on Friday as an airlift got under way for translators and others who risk Taliban retaliation because they worked for the U.S. government during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.
The operation to evacuate U.S.-affiliated Afghans and family members comes as the U.S. troop pullout nears completion and government forces struggle to repulse Taliban advances.
The first planeload of some 200 evacuees were expected to be bused to Fort Lee, a U.S. military base in Virginia, for final paperwork processing and medical examinations.