Afghan national police officer Mohammad Khalid Wardak was hiding with his family in Kabul, hunted by the Taliban, as his supporters frantically sought help for him. After a series of failed attempts, Operation Promises Kept lived up to its name.
In this photo provided to The Associated Press, Mohammad Khalid Wardak is seen in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, after the U.S. military and its allies rescued him and his family. Wardak, a high-profile Afghan national police officer, was being hunted by the Taliban because of his years working with the American military.
After at least four attempts in as many days, the family finally was whisked away by helicopter Wednesday in a dramatic rescue — called Operation Promise Kept — carried out under cover of darkness by the U.S. military and its allies, said Robert McCreary, a former congressional chief of staff and White House official under President George W. Bush, who has worked with special forces in Afghanistan.
Green said he was “incredibly happy ... elated,” when he learned that Khalid and his family were safe, noting that some of his American rescuers had worked alongside Khalid, which he called “serendipitous.” “He fought until he had nothing left to fight with,” Green said. “He was wounded. He was surrounded. His forces were not being resupplied. And echelons above him in the government had already begun to make their exit plan ... and striking deals. So people like him who were fighting were left stranded, and they were left without support.”
Khalid’s supporters said it would have been unthinkable to leave him behind after his years of partnership with Americans. In 2015, when Khalid lost part of his right leg in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, friends in the U.S. military helped get him medical care and a prosthetic leg outside the country. A month later, he was again leading special police operations in Afghanistan alongside the U.S., Green said.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Hundreds of Afghan security forces help at Kabul airport, U.S. saysWith more U.S. troops on the way, up to 600 members of Afghan security forces have helped provide security at Kabul's airport, the scene of chaotic evacuation efforts, even as Afghanistan's military and government has collapsed, Pentagon officials said on Tuesday.
Read more »
Afghan contractor details his family's escape from KabulJust 10 days ago, Ahmad and his family were living at home in Kabul, Afghanistan. Within a few short weeks of American troops’ departure, Ahmad’s home country of Afghanistan fell quickly to the Taliban, an Islamic military insurgent group. Ahmad said it took him a year and a half to get out of the country, and now it’s “impossible” for the thousands of other Afghans trying to escape.
Read more »
Marine’s uphill battle to rescue Afghan translator from KabulMarine Corps Maj. Thomas Schueman’s quiet street in Rhode Island is a world away from Afghanistan, but he remains steadfast in his mission.
Read more »
Afghan officer who fought with US forces rescued from KabulThe U.S. military and its allies have rescued a high-profile Afghan national police officer who was being hunted by the Taliban because of his years working with the American military, airlifting him and his family to safety in an undisclosed location. The family moved from place to place to evade capture and was unable to get inside the airport where the Taliban controlled the entrances.
Read more »
Afghanistan updates: Afghan national flags fly as protests continue in Kabul
Read more »
An Afghan family stuck at airport gate tries desperately to flee KabulEx US interpreter Najeeb Rahimi and his family have been stuck in a line at the Kabul airport for days, hoping to flee before the Taliban finds them. 'I wish I could switch places with you,' former Army Capt. Jeff Trammell texted him.
Read more »