The First International Flight Since The U.S. Evacuated Leaves Kabul

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Airport workers stand in a queue at a check point before entering the Kabul International Airport in Kabul on Sept. 4.





Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images



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Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images



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According to the Washington Post, Qatari and Taliban officials gathered on the tarmac of the Kabul airport Thursday to announce that repairs had been made following the recent violence there and the airport was nearly fully operational again.

Al-Qahtani stressed that this was not an evacuation flight, but rather that people were leaving of their own free will and had tickets. Passengers will also need passports or other documentation, something many vulnerable Afghans don’t have.



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A senior U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, said two very senior Taliban officials helped facilitate the flight and that the group of roughly 200 people included Americans, green card holders and other nationalities.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including Americans, have been waiting for days at a different airport in Mazar-i-Sharif, north of Kabul, also hoping to leave the country.

• Afghanistan