Reporter alleges buses of American women captured by Taliban

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Dylan Lassiter

Journalist Emily Miller tweeted a nightmarish quote earlier today. Miller’s source alleges that several buses of American women were refused entry to Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) and subsequently taken by the Taliban.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;We’re dealing with Kabul. There’s 7 buses of female American citizens. The CG refused to open the gate. We have a congressman with us and he had the state department reach out. MG Donahue refused. 10 minutes ago the females were taken by the Taliban. They are likely dead now.&quot;</p>&mdash; emily miller (@emilymiller) <a href="https://twitter.com/emilymiller/status/1432179085942345730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While the source remains unnamed, Miller claims that the individual is a retired special operator volunteering in Afghanistan. If true, this means that the person supplying the information is likely one of those operating with “Task Force Pineapple,” or a volunteer group conducting similar efforts.

Task Force Pineapple and buses of evacuees

ABC first covered Task Force Pineapple’s mission last Friday, which is aimed at stealthily assisting Afghan allies to escape. The group is comprised of volunteering current and former U.S. special operators, aid workers, intelligence officers, and others with previous experience in Afghanistan.

The group of volunteers undertook operation “Pineapple Express” last week through Thursday, meaning they carried on as a suicide bombing ripped through crowds outside of HKIA on the same day.

Also on Thursday, the group said that they have brought as many as 630 Afghan special operators, assets and enablers, and their families, into HKIA, since the August 15 fall of Kabul.

According to former Green Beret Capt. Zac Lois, a member of Task Force Pineapple, all of the volunteers’ operations are modeled after Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad. This basis led to each of these missions being conducted under the veil of night.

Following her initial tweet, Miller also claimed that these volunteers have faced numerous setbacks when attempting to get people into the airport.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">These groups have sent private planes into Kabul and been told they could not. <br><br>They have shuttled busses of American citizens to the Kabul airport and at have been told to leave and that the were not allowed to fly out.</p>&mdash; emily miller (@emilymiller) <a href="https://twitter.com/emilymiller/status/1432204772443148292?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While the specific claims of buses filled with American women being captured by the Taliban remain unconfirmed, the possibility of it is distressing enough. As these reports continue rolling out, a watchful eye is needed to ensure that those most-endangered are not overlooked.

With the withdrawal deadline only a day away, the information spilling out of Afghanistan will likely continue to escalate in severity.

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