At least four leased planes with several hundred passengers scheduled have not been able to leave the country for days, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. An Afghan official said in a statement that many of the Afghans booked on these flights did not have a passport or visa and had left the airport while the situation was resolved, but Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX), a member of the ranking in The Committee ‘Foreign Affairs of the House said Sunday that the group included Americans who could not leave the country, whom “the Taliban hold … as hostages of the demands right now.”
Pressed by anchor Chris Wallace for more details, the Texas lawmaker said six planes had “sat at the airport for the past two days,” but that the Taliban had not received permission to take off. “We know the reason why the Taliban want something in return,” McCaul said. “Actually, Chris, it’s becoming a hostage situation where they won’t allow American citizens to leave until they receive full recognition from the United States of America.”
U.S. evacuation and withdrawal missions were completed last week. At the time, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said about 100-200 U.S. citizens who wanted to leave the country were still in Afghanistan. On Sunday, McCaul claimed there were still “hundreds of American citizens” left behind.
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