US focused on evacuation of its citizens from Afghanistan: US Defence Secretary
Nov 20, 2021
Washington [US], November 20 : America is focused on the evacuation of its citizens from Afghanistan, and will keep working on it, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.
"We remain focused on making sure currently that we can continue to get out those American citizens and legal prominent residents that want to come out of Afghanistan. So we will continue to work to do that," Austin said at the IISS Manama Dialogue 2021.
Taliban took over Kabul following an offensive that saw the rapid fall of the Afghan government forces.
Meanwhile, over 28,000 Afghans have applied for temporary visas into the US, however only 100 of them have been approved so far, local media reported citing officials as saying.
On the other hand, Afghan families who have permanently been settled in the US said that they are waiting for their relatives to be settled in the US and are afraid to be targeted by the Taliban, reported the Afghan news service.
According to The Khaama Press, each parole applicant- Afghans who will fund families in the US- has so far paid hundreds of dollars that amount to USD 11.5 million in total that has been paid in the last few months.
US Defense Secretary also said that the United States and the Iraqi government remain worried about the Islamic State terror group, and Washington will keep helping Iraq in fighting IS.
"We remain concerned about ISIS, the Iraqi government remains concerned about ISIS. We will do everything we can to help support the Iraqi government and making sure that ISIS does not have the ability to regenerate. Our efforts remain focused on training and enabling and helping the Iraqi security forces also keep pressure on ISIS," he said.
