WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States military used three military helicopters to bring 169 Americans to the airport in Kabul from a building just 200 meters (656 feet) away, the Pentagon said on Friday.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said a decision was made to use the helicopters on Thursday because the Americans were unable to get to the gate of the airport. They were picked up from the nearby Hotel Baron.
Kirby said these were the 169 Americans rescued that President Joe Biden mentioned in his speech earlier on Friday.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Chris Reese)