The United States has launched an evacuation of diplomats from its embassy in Afghanistan, Reuters reported citing anonymous officials.
“We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak, a majority of the staff are ready to leave… the embassy continues to function”, one diplomat said.
According to CBS News, all diplomatic personnel will be entirely evacuated by 31 August. Security engineers, special agents from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security Service as well as senior diplomats, including the ambassador, will stay behind to destroy all sensitive data storage devices.
The Taliban currently held all of Afghanistan’s border crossings as the terrorist group closed in on the capital Kabul, the news agency AP reported.
The news outlet quoted Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid as saying that Taliban insurgents had seized the Torkham border crossing, the last post still under government control.
Source: Agencies
