Planeload of fleeing Afghans arrive in Mexico, including journalists

Afghan citizens arrive in Mexico to apply for humanitarian status at the Benito Juarez International airport in Mexico City, Mexico August 31, 2021. Mexico's Foreign Relations Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A plane carrying 175 Afghans fleeing their strife-torn homeland arrived in Mexico on Tuesday night on one of the last flights to leave Kabul on the day U.S. forces completed a withdrawal that left Taliban Islamist militants in control of Afghanistan.

It was the fourth group of Afghan civilians granted entry by Mexico on humanitarian grounds. A foreign ministry statement said the latest group to arrive included independent journalists and activists accompanied by their families, including 75 children.