US Getting Civilian Personnel Out of Kabul 

Just weeks away from completing its military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the United States is sending thousands of combat troops back to Kabul in a last-ditch attempt to move diplomatic personnel and Afghan allies out of harm's way. BREAKING: "We are further reducing our civilian footprint in #Kabul in light of the evolving security situation" per @StateDeptSpox "We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in #Afghanistan in the coming weeks" pic.twitter.com/wTjkyLEyyn NEW: US official confirms US military deploying #AC130 gunships, #MQ9 #Reaper drones as well as #B52 bombers & #F18s to strike #Taliban and boost #Afghanistan security forcesAC-130s & MQ-9s carrying out the majority of the strikes In a readout on @SecBlinken and @SecDef's call with @ashrafghani, both Blinken and Austin informed Ghani that the U.S. is reducing its civilian footprint in #Kabul in light of the evolving security situation and will accelerate the tempo of Special Immigration Visa (#SIV) flights pic.twitter.com/dpACQJn36P ICYMI: @USEmbassyKabul warns citizens "to leave #Afghanistan immediately""Given the security conditions & reduced staffing, the Embassy’s ability to assist US citizens in Afghanistan is extremely limited even within #Kabul"https://t.co/yoNeiIu7pc

The move, announced Thursday by the State Department and the Pentagon, comes as U.S.-trained and -equipped Afghan security forces continue to crumble in the face of an offensive that has seen almost half of Afghanistan's 34 provincial capitals fall to Taliban insurgents in less than a week. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can download this video to view it offline. The first set of reinforcements, 3,000 troops from three U.S. Marine and Army battalions, were expected to arrive in the Afghan capital of Kabul within 24 to 48 hours.