| Operation Allies Refuge | |
|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican military withdrawal from Afghanistan | |
 Evacuees atHamid Karzai International Airport are escorted by aU.S. Marine from the24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 18 August 2021 | |
| Type | Non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) |
| Location | |
| Commanded by | RAdm.Peter Vasely |
| Objective | Evacuation of American citizens, embassy staff, and allied Afghan nationals |
| Date | First phase: 14 July 2021 –15 August 2021 Second phase: 15 August 2021 – 30 August 2021 |
| Executed by |  United States |
| Outcome | 123,000 people evacuated |
| Casualties | 195+ killed[1][2][3] |
Operation Allies Refuge was an evacuation effort carried out by theUnited States during the2021 Taliban offensive. It took place in the final weeks of theWar in Afghanistan and saw the airlifting of certain at-risk Afghan civilians (particularly coalition-allied interpreters), employees of theAmerican embassy in Kabul, and other prospective applicants for the U.S.Special Immigrant Visa (SIV).[4][5] American personnel also helpedNATO and other regional allies in their respective evacuation efforts fromHamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city ofKabul. The operation was concurrent with the broaderAmerican military withdrawal from Afghanistan and themultinational evacuation of eligible foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.
SIV applicants were airlifted to the U.S., where they were temporarily housed by the American military while they completed their SIV requirements.
The operation's name was unveiled on 14 July 2021 by theBiden administration.[4][6] On 22 July, theU.S. House of Representatives passed theAverting Loss of Life and Injury by Expediting SIVs (ALLIES) Act to increase the visa cap for Afghan interpreters and to expedite the Afghan SIV process.[7][8][clarification needed]
On 30 July, the first group of 221 Afghan interpreters arrived atFort Lee, Virginia, for SIV processing, with at least 20,000 SIV holders and applicants still to be moved from Afghanistan.[4][6][9][10]
On 12 August, followingcontinued Taliban victories across Afghanistan, the Biden administration announced that it would deploy 3,000 U.S. troops toHamid Karzai International Airport to help evacuate embassy personnel, U.S. nationals and SIV applicants.[11][12] On 13 August, Marines and Army National Guardsmen from 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 194th Armored Regiment arrived in Kabul. On 17 August, Army paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division moved from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kabul. Another 1,000 Air Force and Army personnel were to deploy inQatar to process SIV applicants. Meanwhile, U.S. embassy staff in Kabul were destroying sensitive materials and items featuring embassy logos or U.S. flags, a standard procedure during a drawdown. Helicopters shuttled people between the embassy compound and Kabul International Airport.[13][14]
As of 26 August,Ramstein Air Base,Landstuhl Regional Medical Center,Grafenwöhr,Hohenfels,Spangdahlem Air Base andRhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany,Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy,Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo andNaval Station Rota in Spain also participated.[15]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2021) |
On 15 August, Kabulfell to the Taliban. Afghan security forces fled the capital and thousands of Afghan civilians hurried to the airport in hopes of boarding flights, resulting in chaotic scenes of Afghans attempting to force themselves aboard military planes. ThePentagon and theState Department said the military force at the airport would expand to nearly 6,000 troops.[16]
U.S. military took control over the security and air traffic control of the airport later in the day.[17] At this point, Operation Allies Refuge became concurrent with a new effort to airlift all SIV applicants, embassy personnel, American nationals, and eligible Afghans seeking to flee the country.[citation needed]
On 16 August, aC-17 cargo plane, whose usual passenger load is fewer than 150 Armyparatroopers, safely evacuated roughly 823 people to theAl Udeid Air Base inQatar, setting a new record for the C-17. (The initial count was roughly 640,[18] but U.S. Air Force officials later said they had not initially counted children sitting in their parents' laps on the buses.[19]) The Pentagon confirmed that the head ofU.S. Central Command, GeneralKenneth F. McKenzie Jr., metTaliban leaders based in Qatar's capitalDoha. The Taliban officials agreed to terms set by McKenzie for refugees to flee using Kabul Airport.[20][21]
U.S. Army Maj. GeneralWilliam Taylor said that nine C-17s arrived overnight, bringing equipment and 1,000 more troops. Separately, seven C-17s airlifted 700 to 800 passengers out of the airport, 165 of which were American citizens while the rest were SIV applicants and third-country nationals.[22]
On 17 August, about 1,100 people were evacuated on 13 flights. The White House said more than 3,200 U.S. citizens, permanent residents and refugees were evacuated from the country, and nearly 2,000 Afghan interpreters were flown to the U.S. for SIV processing.[23]
On August 18,Deputy Secretary of StateWendy Sherman said U.S. military flights evacuated about 2,000 people, and said it has processed more than 4,840 people for evacuation. The State Department said the U.S. military has evacuated nearly 5,000 people from the country.[24] On August 19, more than 2,000 people were evacuated on 12 flights. The Pentagon said it has evacuated about 7,000 people from the country.[25][26]
It was reported on 19 August that U.S. forces had rescued Mohammad Khalid Wardak, a high-profile Afghan police chief that had worked extensively with U.S. special forces in its war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. According to Robert McCreary, a former congressional chief of staff and White House official underGeorge W. Bush, Khalid and his family were rescued via helicopter by U.S. forces in a night-time operation named Operation Promises Kept. Khalid had lost contact with rescuers while evading Taliban forces for days in Kabul after he was unable to reach the airport following the government's collapse, and his supporters in the U.S. military had chosen to evacuate him as his vocal opposition to the Taliban made him at high-risk of reprisals. McCreary said that Khalid and his family were "safe in an undisclosed location" and added that multiple allies, including the British, had helped in the operation's success.[27]
On 20 August, about 5,700 people were evacuated on 16 flights. The Pentagon said it has evacuated about 12,700 people from the country.[28] On 21 August,United States ArmyMajor GeneralWilliam D. Taylor announced that 17,000 people have been evacuated in the past few weeks, including 2,500Americans.[29] The Taliban has at times blocked evacuation efforts made by theUnited Kingdom.[30]
On 22 August,PresidentJoe Biden said thatAmerican troops may remain in Afghanistan past theAugust 31 deadline. He also announced that 28,000 people have been evacuated since 15 August, and that 33,000 people have been evacuated since July.[31]
Also on 22 August, the Department of Defense ordered the activation of theCivil Reserve Air Fleet to assist in the evacuation.[32] The current activation is for 18 planes: four fromUnited Airlines; three each fromAmerican Airlines,Atlas Air,Delta Air Lines andOmni Air; and two fromHawaiian Airlines. Commercial airline pilots and crews would help transport thousands of Afghans who are arriving at U.S. bases in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. From the bases in the Middle East, the airliners would augment military flights carrying Afghans to Germany, Italy, Spain and other stops in Europe, and then ultimately to the United States.[33][34][35]
On 23 August,United States ArmyMajor GeneralWilliam D. Taylor announced thatJoint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, was ready to receive Afghan evacuees in addition toFort McCoy, Wisconsin;Fort Bliss, Texas; and Fort Lee, Virginia. Pentagon Press SecretaryJohn F. Kirby said the goal was to be able to receive about 25,000 evacuees in coming weeks.[36]
On 25 August,Blackwater founderErik Prince offered to charge $6,500 for anyone who wanted to evacuate from Kabul.[37] That same day, the total amount of evacuations topped 82,300.[38]
Although the Taliban's conquest of the country led to the disintegration of theAfghan Armed Forces, an armed remnant of mostly 500 to 600Afghan Commandos were at the airport helping U.S. troops provide perimeter security. The Pentagon said these Afghan troops would be evacuated if they desired.[39]
On 27 August, the Department of Defense announced that three more U.S. military bases will be used to house up to 50,000 Afghan nationals who are applying for SIVs or are deemed "at risk" from the Taliban:Fort Pickett,Holloman Air Force Base andMarine Corps Base Quantico.[40]
On 29 August 2021, President Joe Biden ordered theDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) to lead Operation Allies Welcome, a civilian-led continuation of Allies Refuge with the task of managing the resettlement of refugees and providing "temporary housing, sustainment, and support inside the United States" for evacuees. DHS established the Unified Coordination Group allowing for collaboration with military, state and local governments,non-governmental organizations, and the private sector during Allies Welcome activities.[41][42]
Between July 2021 and March 2022, over 73,000 Afghans wereparoled into the US as part of Operation Allies Welcome.[43] In some cases they were sponsored and assisted by groups of private citizens called Sponsor Circles.[44][45] The parolees were generally eligible for refugee and mainstream benefits in the US.[46][47]
Afghans were generally paroled for a period of two years; an extension (re-parole) was available.[48][49] Once in the US, Afghans could apply forasylum,Special Immigrant Visa, or other immigration status for which they qualified.[50][51][52] As of 2025, of the asylum claims by Afghans which had been decided, over 97% had been approved.[53]
By 26 August, at least 195 people had been killed at or near the Kabul International Airport as thousands of people tried to forcibly board planes. The majority were killed by a suicide bombing.[1][2][3]
Six people were killed after trying to escape asstowaways: two people were seen falling to their deaths from the sky after clinging to thelanding gear of a departing C-17 cargo plane, while three people clinging to the side of an Air Force jet were killed after being run over.[54][55][56] Remains of another dead Afghan were found in the landing gear of the American C-17, after the pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in a nearby country because they were unable to retract the landing gear.[57][58][59] Eleven more civilians died duringstampedes at the airport, seven of whom died in a single incident on August 21.[60][61] The Taliban occasionally fired shots at the airport as a form ofcrowd control; some people reportedly received gunshot wounds from the gunfire.[62] Three more people died during gun incidents, including two armed men who fired into a crowd and were killed by U.S. troops,[63][64] while the other was an Afghan guard killed during a gunfight between Afghan forces and unknown gunmen.[65]
At least 182 people were killed and more than 200 others were wounded duringa suicide bombing attack at the airport on August 26.[66] The attack was carried out byIslamic State militants. At least 169 Afghan civilians and 13 US service members were among the killed. The dead Americans were identified as elevenmarines, onesoldier, and oneNavy corpsman.[67] Several more foreign troops and Taliban members were among the injured.[68][69] Three of the dead Afghan civilians were also British citizens.[70]
On 2 September, a nine-month-old baby died after arriving at thePhiladelphia International Airport inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, making her the first death of an evacuee on American soil.[71]
Media related toOperation Allies Refuge at Wikimedia Commons
