Human remains were found Monday in the wheel well of a U.S. military plane that departed from Kabul amid hundreds of Afghans flooding the airport.
The aircraft had previously landed on the Kabul runway with a load of cargo, though the plane quickly started taxiing away as it was rushed by a number of Afghan civilians who breached a perimeter.
“In addition to videos seen online and in press reports, human remains were discovered in the wheel well of the C-17 after it landed at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar,” Air Force Chief of Media Operations Ann Stefanek said in a statement. “The aircraft is currently impounded to provide time to collect the remains and inspect the aircraft before it is returned to flying status.”
On Monday, Afghans were seen blocking runways and jumping on the sides of departing aircraft, a move that led to the release of footage purportedly showing bodies plummeting to their deaths once the transport planes reached high altitudes. The mayhem, during which at least seven people were pronounced dead, prompted the military to kill two armed individuals at the airport, the Pentagon said.
“Alongside our joint force, interagency, and international partners, the U.S. Air Force remains laser-focused on maintaining security at HKIA to prevent a situation like this from happening again as we safely process Afghan civilians seeking to depart the country,” Stefanek said.
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Rescue operations were halted for a short time during the turmoil, though they quickly resumed after the United States deployed 1,000 additional troops to the area, bringing the total presence guarding the airport to 3,500. Seven thousand personnel, including multiple Marine battalions and the Army’s 82nd Airborne, have arrived in all.
The U.S. is in the process of extracting diplomats from its embassy in Kabul, as well as Afghan recipients of the Special Immigrant Visas that grant asylum to residents of the country who worked for the U.S. government. So far, the U.S. has removed 700 people from the country, including 150 U.S. citizens.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby estimated Tuesday that between 5,000 and 10,000 U.S. citizens remain in or around the Kabul area. The new capabilities afford the U.S. the opportunity to remove between 5,000 and 9,000 individuals per day, but U.S. citizens are not the sole focus of the operation, Kirby said.
The Department of Defense revealed that it planned to house up to 30,000 Afghan refugees on military bases, including Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.
The Taliban have vowed not to attack U.S. personnel during the frantic air operations, though reports suggest that the militant group is attempting to obstruct extraction efforts. Several former defense officials said the Taliban have “a ring outside of the airport and won’t let anyone inside it.”
Earlier in the day, Kirby warned the Taliban that efforts to disrupt “people or operations at the airport” would be met with force.
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“Any attack on our people or on our operations at the airport will be met with a swift and forceful unambiguous response,” the Pentagon spokesman said.
Violent clashes between U.S. forces and the Taliban have yet to occur, according to Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor, the vice director for logistics of the Joint Staff.
