Taliban blocking Afghans from reaching Kabul airport breaking commitments, State Department says

The Taliban is reportedly blocking Afghans from reaching Kabul’s international airport to flee the country, breaking their commitments to the U.S., a Biden administration official said Wednesday. That acknowledgement at a press briefing came shortly after the U.S. Embassy in Kabul alerted people there that it ''cannot ensure safe passage'' to the airport for the capital city, where Islamist militants had overthrown the U.S.-backed Afghan government with astonishing speed.Senators Amy Klobuchar (D- and Mitt Romney (R-UT) urged the U.S. not to forget journalists and support staff in Afghanistan.In a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, they said there are still about 200-plus journalists and support staff as well as their families in Afghanistan seeking to evacuate. About 2,000 people have been evacuated in the past 24 hours, Sherman said, with more than 4,840 processed for evacuation over the previous few days.