Man says family member was yards away from Kabul airport attack
"It's a very devastating day for me and for all Afghans," Mohammed Ismail, a local resident, said.
"It's a very devastating day for me and for all Afghans," Mohammed Ismail, a local resident, said.
"It's a very devastating day for me and for all Afghans," Mohammed Ismail, a local resident, said.
Thursday's deadly attack at the Kabul airport has increased the fear for those with families still trying to get out of Afghanistan.
Mohammad Ismail, an Afghanistan refugee who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said some of his family members are having a hard time leaving the country.
"It's heartbroken that we have a place that we call home, but it is controlled and run by the Taliban regime," Ismail said.
He fled the country in 1998. However, his aunt, cousin, and uncle weren't so lucky, despite their connections to the U.S. military.
"They deserve to be in a safer place, to have freedom, because they have been associated with the U.S. government and Armed Forces," Ismail said.
With ongoing Taliban attacks in the past few weeks, his relatives are now fighting for survival and desperate for safety.
On Thursday, his aunt made the decision to go to the Kabul Airport with her husband and her seven children. Little did she know the chaos that would ensue.
"It was hours before the explosion that she made her mind to go to the airport," Ismail said.
Ismail adds his aunt missed the attack by several yards. Despite the threat, she and her family are still at the airport, eagerly waiting for a way out of Afghanistan.
"Her mentality right now, as I spoke to her last, is that this is the only option for her. She is under threat, but she has no other option [but] to stay there," Ismail said.
As an interpreter for the U.S. Armed Forces for three and a half years, Ismail says he's worried for his relative's protection.
"Since I had that close interaction with the Taliban detainees and prisoners, that's why they are in extreme and imminent danger and that we need to evacuate them," Ismail said.
He now spends his time calling for the help of national leaders for the safety of his family members and others.
"We need the support. Do your best to support us, please," Ismail said.
Ismail adds he's hoping to bring his aunt and her family to a third-world country for safety, then to the United States as evacuees.
