20 deaths in and around Kabul airport: NATO official

At least 20 people have died in the past seven days in and around Afghanistan's Kabul airport during the evacuation effort after the Taliban’s takeover of the capital.

“The crisis outside the Kabul airport is unfortunate. Our focus is to evacuate all foreigners as soon as we can,” the official, who sought anonymity, told Reuters news agency.

Crowds have grown at the airport every day over the past week, hindering operations as the United States and other nations attempt to evacuate thousands of their diplomats and civilians as well as numerous Afghans.

“Our forces are maintaining strict distance from outer areas of the Kabul airport to prevent any clashes with the Taliban,” the NATO official added.

Source: Al Jazeera