A series of powerful photographs from Kabul show US military forces assisting and comforting Afghan children following the Taliban's takeover of the country.
On Sunday, the Taliban entered the presidential palace in Kabul and declared the war "over", resulting in President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country, CNBC reports.
Following the rapid collapse of the Afghanistan government to the Taliban, Reuters reports that many civilians in the country have stormed Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport in an attempt to flee the country.
And with evacuation efforts continuing, new images from Kabul show members of the US military comforting and assisting young Afghan children amid the chaos.
Below, a marine assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) can be seen cradling an infant:
The image below shows another member of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit giving fresh water to a child at the Hamid Karzai International Airport:
On Friday (August 20), President Biden said in a press conference from the White House: "As an American, I offer my gratitude to the brave men and women of the US armed forces who are carrying out [the evacuation efforts]. They're incredible."
Additionally, per The Independent, USMC spokesperson Major Jim Stenger has also said in a statement this week that the scenes of infants and children being assisted by US forces are "a true example of the professionalism of the Marines on site, who are making quick decisions in a dynamic situation in support of evacuation operations."
The image below shows US Marines working with UK and Turkish coalition to help a child at the Hamid Karzai International Airport:
Below, a Marine with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) entertains young children waiting to be processed for the evacuation:
The Independent reports that as of August 20, US forces have evacuated approzimately 12,700 people from Afghanistan in the last week. The outlet adds that "up to 80,000 Americans and Afghan allies" are still awaiting evacuation.
President Biden said on Friday that he will "mobilize every resource necessary" in order to pull Americans out of Afghanistan.
"Any American who wants to come home, we will get you home," the POTUS added.