6:59 p.m. ET, August 20, 2021
US military helicopters evacuated Americans from hotel near Kabul airport
From CNN's Oren Lieberman
The US military used helicopters to evacuate a group of Americans from a hotel near the Kabul airport, according to the Pentagon spokesperson who provided new details about the mission that was first revealed by President Biden in his speech on Friday.
The 169 Americans were retrieved after another country informed US commanders that citizens had gathered at the Baron Hotel near the airport, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday evening.
Three CH-47 Chinook helicopters flew from the military side of the airport to the Baron Hotel, just off the southern side of the airport, to collect the Americans and bring them onto the field, Kirby said. He did not know if the Chinooks flew multiple flights to bring the Americans over.
"It was a very quick, safely performed operation," Kirby said.
The original plan had been for the Americans to walk through the Abbey Gate, located approximately 200 meters from their hotel, Kirby said. But a large crowd had gathered at the gate, and some of the Americans felt unsafe trying to work their way through the crowd.
Kirby clarified his earlier remarks that this crowd had walked onto the field with the assistance of some US troops. He said there have been a few instances of Americans arriving at the airport and being escorted onto the field by US troops. But he said this is the only instance of which he is aware where US helicopters have left the field to collect American citizens.
The Associated Press was first to report about this mission.
The decision to launch the helicopters was made by the commander on the ground "on the spot."
"He executed a mission that he believed was in the best interest of helping these Americans, and he did," Kirby said. A third country, which Kirby would not identify, had established security at the hotel and informed the US that its citizens were there.