Associated Press/Wali Sabawoon
- The CIA set up a secret gate near the Kabul airport to smuggle out evacuees, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- Initially, the gate was used for high-priority CIA evacuees.
- According to the report, in the final days, more Afghans and Americans were able to use the gate.
During the United States' hectic evacuation from Afghanistan in August, the CIA opened a secret back door two miles from the Kabul and smuggled evacuees through the hidden corridor, according to The Wall Street Journal.
At the time, thousands of Afghans took to the Kabul airport seeking to leave the country, and many were denied flights and access to the airport.
According to the report, the gate was known as Glory Gate or Liberty Gate, and was tucked away by a gas station near the northern side of the airfield. CIA operatives as well as CIA-trained Afghan soldiers helped Afghans and Americans navigate the secret entrance during the evacuation, according to CIA sources who spoke with The Journal.
"The gas station was where our guys would go grab Afghans" seeking to evacuate, a former CIA operative told the Journal.
The report added that the gate was initially "used to smuggle out priority cases for the CIA, including intelligence assets, local agents and their families, and a list of high-importance cases sent from the White House." But in the last two days of the evacuation, more civilians and evacuees were taken through the gate.
The White House, State Department, Department of Defense, and CIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.