Airlift begins for Afghans who worked for U.S. during its longest war

FILE PHOTO: Former Afghan interpreters, who worked with U.S. troops in Afghanistan, demonstrate in front of the U.S. embassy in Kabul June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Some 200 Afghans were set to begin new lives in the United States on Friday as an airlift got under way for translators and others who risk Taliban retaliation because they worked for the United States during its 20-year war in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.

The operation to evacuate U.S.-affiliated Afghans and family members comes as the U.S. troop pullout nears completion and government forces struggle to repulse Taliban advances.