US soldier hangs on embassy flag during Kabul evacuation



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A US soldier grabbed an American flag as he boarded one of the planes carrying Americans out of Afghanistan on Sunday amid chaotic and deadly evacuations after the Taliban regained control of the ‘Afghanistan.

“Fox News” was the first to obtain and publish this photo, which shows a soldier kissing the flag at Kabul International Airport after it was hastily removed from the US Embassy in Afghanistan.

Kabul International Airport quickly descended into chaos on Monday after thousands of Afghans scrambled onto the tarmac to escape, even clinging to US military planes deployed to transport US Embassy staff and others.

US soldier secures flights that take off in chaos at Kabul airport on Monday evening

US soldier secures flights that take off in chaos at Kabul airport on Monday evening

At least seven people died in the chaos, including two who grabbed the wheels of a C-17 transport plane and fell off the tarmac moments later in flight.

It was not immediately clear whether the soldier carrying the flag was on one of those flights the Afghans were desperately trying to force their way through.

The flag was removed as the United States embassy in Kabul was evacuated and closed on Sunday evening when the Taliban began arriving in the city.

Americans evacuated from embassy to Kabul airport on Sunday

Americans evacuated from embassy to Kabul airport on Sunday

In scenes reminiscent of the Saigon evacuation in Vietnam in 1975, some American diplomats were flown by helicopter from the roof of the embassy to Kabul airport.

It comes at a time when US President Joe Biden has refused to accept blame for the chaotic scenes of Afghans hanging from US military planes.

He called the suffering of besieged Afghan civilians “painful” and admitted that the Taliban had taken control of the country much faster than his administration had expected.

Although he said “the responsibility lies with him,” Biden has blamed most of the blame on the Afghans themselves for the swift and shocking invasion of their country by the Taliban.

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