Afghan Pilots Start Leaving Uzbekistan For UAE, Despite Taliban

U.S.-trained Afghan pilots and other personnel held in an Uzbek camp for about a month began leaving the country on Sunday, under a U.S. deal that came despite Taliban demands for the return of the Afghans and their aircraft.

According to a Pilot speaking on condition of anonymity, the first group is at least initially heading to the United Arab Emirates. The transfer was expected to take place in several waves, starting on Sunday and ending in the next day or so.

It was not immediately clear what would happen to the 46 aircraft, including A-29 light attack planes and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, that the pilots flew to neighboring Uzbekistan as ground forces collapsed and the Taliban swept to power.

Current and former U.S. officials say that the Taliban pressured Uzbekistan to hand over the aircraft and personnel.

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Uzbekistan, applauded the U.S. evacuation effort, saying the United States owed it to the Afghan pilots.

The Taliban did not respond to a request for comment on the Uzbek situation. The group seized aircraft including helicopters and drones as Afghan forces melted away last month, and it has called for the return for the aircraft flown out of the country before its fighters seized power in Kabul.