But 'up to 40,000' Americans remain stranded: Taliban fighters close in on airport after taking ALL access points which forces US troops to negotiate with them on who gets in
US defense officials in charge of evacuating Americans and Afghan refugees from Kabul claim they'll remove 5,000 every day but so far, they've only rescued 1,400 since Sunday and as many as 40,000 remain stranded and the Taliban is fast encroaching on the airport, the last safe place for anyone trying to get out.
At a briefing on Tuesday morning, US Army Major General Hank Taylor revealed 700 people were flown out of the region overnight on seven C-17 jets. The number included 165 US citizens and the rest were for foreign nationals.
He claimed between 5,000 and 9,000 people will be removed every day on one flight per hour but there was no sign of any US plane at the airport on Tuesday while Indian, French and British jets were taking off.