Sgt. Isaiah Campbell / U.S. Marine Corps via Getty Images
- The US State Department said it has contacted every American who has expressed interest in leaving Afghanistan, making over 4,000 calls in four days.
- Approximately 4,000 Americans and their families have been evacuated so far, the Pentagon said Tuesday.
- The US has evacuated and helped evacuate around 70,700 people since August 14.
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The US State Department said it had been in touch with every American who has expressed interest in leaving Afghanistan through the online Repatriation Assistance Request form on the US Embassy in Kabul's website.
In a tweet on Tuesday, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said the department had made more than 4,000 calls in the last four days.
Approximately 4,000 American citizens and their families have been evacuated so far, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, reported CNBC. However, it is not known how many Americans are still in Afghanistan.
When asked for an exact figure, White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters in a briefing Tuesday that the US does not track its citizens' whereabouts in the world. But she added the State Department would have a more accurate figure on Wednesday.
The updates came as an August 31 deadline nears for US troops to withdraw from Afghanistan, potentially upending the evacuation process.
There have been calls for US President Joe Biden to extend the deadline, but in a speech Tuesday, he remained confident that the evacuation would be completed by then.
"We are currently on pace to finish by August 31," Biden said, adding, "the sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops."
The president added, however, that he has also asked the Pentagon and State Department to come up with contingency plans if evacuations are not completed.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has said that the deadline will not be extended, warning of "consequences" should US troops stay past the deadline. During a press conference on Tuesday, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghans were no longer allowed to go to the airport and that all Afghans who had gathered at Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul should head home.
"The road, which goes to the airport, is blocked. Afghans cannot take that road to go to the airport, but foreign nationals are allowed to take that road to the airport," Mujahid said, according to CNN.
"We are not allowing the evacuation of Afghans anymore, and we are not happy with it either," he added.
The US has "evacuated and facilitated the evacuation" of around 70,700 people since August 14, adding that it has relocated about 75,900 people since the end of July, the White House said on Monday.