WASHINGTON—The Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. military are conducting extraction operations to evacuate Americans using helicopters and ground troops as the window begins to close for rescuing all people at risk in Afghanistan.
The CIA has launched clandestine operations to rescue Americans in and outside Kabul in recent days, according to U.S. and other officials. The missions are using American military helicopters but under the control of the CIA, a typical arrangement in such operations.
A congressional source knowledgeable about the evacuation effort said U.S. troops had gone into Kabul on joint missions with other foreign allies, including Britain and France, to designated locations where they had picked up citizens from all those nations, U.S. green-card holders, and Afghans who hold special visas for helping the U.S. military.
The air and ground operations are considered perilous under the current circumstances in the country as the U.S. has begun to assign priority on evacuating Americans over Afghans who are at risk. Those include the many thousands of Afghan interpreters and others who worked for the U.S. government but remain inside the country and face retribution from the Taliban.
The Pentagon has said it is coordinating with the Taliban on airport security, but it’s unclear if those discussions also included extraction missions.
WASHINGTON - Capitol police say they're conducting an active bomb threat and evacuating nearby buildings on Capitol Hill after a suspicious vehicle was identified near the Library of Congress.
The Associated Press says a possible explosive may have been located in the "suspicious vehicle."
Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that investigators on the scene were working to determine whether the device was an operable explosive and whether the man in the truck was holding a detonator.
The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The following streets in the area have been closed:
- Independence Ave between 3rd St. SW to 2nd St SE
- Constitution Ave between 3rd St. NW and 2nd St. NE
- East Capitol NE between 1st St NE and 2nd St SE
Capitol police are asking people to avoid the area.
This is a developing news situation.
LIVE LOOK VIA WUSA9
UPDATE:
Several governmental buildings in Washington, D.C., were evacuated Thursday morning due to what Capitol Police call "an active bomb threat investigation" after a man drove a pickup truck onto a sidewalk.
Law enforcement negotiators are working to make contact with the person in the vehicle, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Negotiation is still ongoing to have a "peaceful resolution" and the suspect's motives were unknown, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said in a press conference around noon local time.
The suspect told responding officers he had a bomb, and responding officers said he had what appeared to be a detonator in his hand, Manger said.
Authorities are also investigating a video posted to Facebook that purports to have been posted by the man in the vehicle.
The Cannon House Office Building, a congressional office building, was evacuated via underground routes. The Library of Congress and Supreme Court building were also evacuated. Both the Supreme Court and Congress are on recess.
Messages have been sent to congressional staffers asking that they "remain calm and relocate to Longworth House Office Building using the underground tunnels."
Senate staff were asked in a message to "remain clear of the police activity" and to "please move indoors" if they were outside on Capitol grounds.
The FBI said it's responding. The White House is monitoring the situation and is receiving updates from law enforcement, according to an administration official.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
WASHINGTON — UPDATE, 2:21 p.m.: A law enforcement source tells ABC News the Capitol bomb threat suspect has surrendered and is in police custody.
WASHINGTON (SBG) — The U.S. embassy in Kabul issued a warning Wednesday that it cannot guarantee safe passage to the airport, the only way to leave Afghanistan.
The security situation in Kabul continues to change quickly, including at the airport," the notice says. The warning comes as the U.S. military continues to accelerate what has been a chaotic evacuation process after the Taliban swiftly took over the country.
It also comes after National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Taliban have agreed to allow “safe passage” from Afghanistan for civilians to get to the airport. There have been multiple reports of civilians being pushed back or turned away trying to get there over the last several days.
Asked about the warning at a briefing Wednesday, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said she was not aware of any incidents where Americans were harassed or attacked going to the airport. She did concede there might be reports she wasn't aware of.
"The Taliban made a commitment to safe passage for American citizens," she said. "So far, it appears Americans have been able to get to the airport."
Taliban fighters reportedly fired into a crowd and beat protesters in cities throughout Afghanistan on Wednesday, just days after the insurgent group took control of the country.
Al Jazeera reported that at least two people were killed and 12 others injured after shots were fired during a protest in Jalalabad.
Dozens of Afghans gathered in the city to raise the national flag before the country’s Independence Day, according to The Associated Press.
As Afghans tried to lower the Taliban flag, which was raised after the insurgent group took over the region, fighters started firing shots in the air and attacking the Afghans with batons in an effort to disperse the crowd, the AP reported, citing video footage.
A television cameraman who tried to document the violence was also reportedly beaten by the insurgent group's fighters.
Fighters with the insurgent group have been patrolling the streets in Kabul, at times coming into contact with hundreds of Afghan protesters, The New York Times noted.
Despite the risks involved with demonstrating, protesters have been whistling, shouting and waving large Afghan flags in the streets, prompting Taliban forces to try to dissolve the crowds by firing shots into the air, according to the Times, which cited video aired by local news media outlets.
When those tactics did not work, however, the fighters reportedly resorted to force.
That violence was also seen at checkpoints in Kabul and near the local airport as the U.S. and other countries were operating evacuation flights from the region, according to The Washington Post.
The Post reported that some Afghans who sought to leave the country on evacuation flights were unable to do so because they came into contact with the Taliban at checkpoints.
The insurgent group's fighters reportedly beat a number of Afghans who tried to cross and intimidated others against fleeing the country, according to the newspaper, which cited other outlets' reports and an eyewitness account.
In another instance, a former interpreter who worked for the Australian army was reportedly shot in the leg by a Taliban fighter, according to SBS News.
The news of violence between the Taliban and Afghans comes just days after the insurgent group seized Kabul and entered the presidential palace in a relatively peaceful manner, effectively toppling the Afghan government and taking control of the country.
There were not many reports of clashes between the Taliban and Afghan security forces as the insurgent group seized control on Sunday.
“We don’t want Afghanistan to be a battlefield anymore,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the longtime top spokesperson for the Taliban, said during a news conference on Tuesday, according to the Times.
“From today onward, war is over,” he added.
The current developments in the region, however, are putting those statements to the test.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that the Taliban “informed” the U.S. that they “are prepared to provide the safe passage of civilians to the airport, and we intend to hold them to that commitment.”
He later said the U.S. has been “working, engaging, coordinating with Taliban elements on the ground to ensure safe passage.
Congressional offices and outside advocacy groups are fielding a flood of frantic calls from American citizens and foreign allies desperate to escape from Afghanistan amid unfolding chaos there.
On Sunday, staffers from Sen. Tom Cotton’s office set up a hotline for Americans stranded in Afghanistan who have not yet been able to receive any clear communication from State Department officials or other government resources.
In less than 24 hours, several hundred individuals had contacted the line, including a number of Americans trapped behind Taliban lines.
“The situation is dire, but we’ll do everything in our power to help keep you informed and to help get you out,” Cotton, R-Ark. and an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
Staffers said they do not have any special inside information on evacuations or State Department planning, but have been able to consolidate contact information and streamline communications with appropriate officials on the ground.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., offered similar assistance through his office.
For many panicked individuals there, that’s an improvement over the current lack of information.
State Department officials have set up their own hotline at 1-888-407-4747 for domestic calls and 1-202-501-4444 for overseas calls, as well as a Repatriation Assistance Request form for individuals seeking emergency flights out of Afghanistan.
But because of a crush of requests, officials have not been able to respond to every inquiry, leaving many confused as to whether they are awaiting further instructions or caught outside the system.
“Do not call the U.S. Embassy in Kabul for details or updates about the flight,” the department’s official advisory states. “Do not travel to the airport until you have been informed by email that departure options exist.”
Officials from No One Left Behind — which for years has advocated for better policies regarding immigration and assistance for Afghan nationals who helped U.S. military forces — said on Monday that they spent most of the weekend fielding calls from veterans trying to help former interpreters get on one of the last few American flights out of Afghanistan.
“State and [International Organization for Migration] aren’t returning calls,” group officials wrote on social media. “We are working as fast as possible to answer all communications. You are not alone.”
