https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/27/asia ... index.html
Death toll now over 170.
(CNN)The United States still plans to end its mission in Afghanistan this month, the Pentagon said Friday, as the evacuation of US citizens and allies enters its final, desperate stage after a bombing at Kabul's airport
killed at least 170 people including 13 US service members.
Far fewer people were at the airport Friday, and a source directly familiar with the Kabul airport operations told CNN the remaining focus is to get people with special, last-minute access requests to the airport. But the source cautioned that officials were "unsure how many they can get in with so much Taliban coordination required."
More than 200 people were injured in Thursday's attack, an official with Afghanistan's Ministry of Health told CNN on Friday. The UK government said Friday that two British adults and the child of another British national were among those killed in the attack.
The Pentagon said Friday the US was "still planning on ending this mission at the end of the month."
"As we get closer and we are getting closer, you're going see us begin to make those muscle movements to pull out our troops and some of our equipment, as appropriate with any retrograde," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said at a a briefing, adding they want to "preserve as much capability for as long as we can, both in terms of the security footprint" and ability to evacuate people.