About 450 U.S.-trained Afghan pilots who fled to Uzbekistan after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, are now being flown from the Uzbek camp to the United Arab Emirates, a pilot told Reuters. Afghan pilots at the Uzebek camp feared being sent back to Afghanistan and being killed by the Taliban, although the terror group claimed they would not carry out reprisal killings after seizing control of the country in August. They left under a U.S. deal that came despite Taliban pressure for the return of the pilots and aircraft. 'The pilots were the most lethal part of the Afghan military, and it’s very important to do whatever we can to protect them.' The Afghan Air Force was operating 167 aircraft, including 108 helicopters and 59 planes, according to an official U.S. government inspection on June 30.

Source: Daily Mail September 13, 2021 06:37 UTC