Operation Allies Refuge was an evacuation effort carried out by the United States during the 2021 Taliban offensive. It took place in the final weeks of the War in Afghanistan and saw the airlifting of certain at-risk Afghan civilians, employees of the American embassy in Kabul, and other prospective applicants for the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). American personnel also helped NATO and other regional allies in their respective evacuation efforts from Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital city of Kabul. The operation was concurrent with the broader American military withdrawal from Afghanistan and the multinational evacuation of eligible foreigners and vulnerable Afghans.
Evacuees at Hamid Karzai International Airport are escorted by a U.S. Marine from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 18 August 2021
Temporary meal service and processing facilities for Afghan special immigrant visa applicants at Fort Lee, Virginia, July 2021
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III evacuates 823 fleeing Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport on 15 August 2021.
U.S. soldiers and Marines assist with security at an evacuation control checkpoint at Kabul Airport, 19 August
Large-scale evacuations of foreign citizens and some vulnerable Afghan citizens took place amid the withdrawal of US and NATO forces at the end of the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of Kabul and declared victory on 15 August 2021, and the NATO-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan collapsed. With the Taliban controlling the whole city except Hamid Karzai International Airport, hostilities ceased and the Taliban assisted in the evacuation effort by providing security and screening evacuees.
Evacuees load on to a United Arab Emirates Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during the evacuation on 20 August 2021
US embassy staff arriving in Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar from Afghanistan on 15 August 2021
A C-17 evacuating 823 passengers out of Kabul on 15 August
US Army 10th Mountain Division soldiers guarding the apron at Kabul Airport. Crowds of people can be seen in the background.