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Report: Veterans From US Special Forces Have Been Secretly Saving Afghan Allies

Photo by Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla / U.S. Marine Corps via Getty Images

Taylor Giles Contributor
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A volunteer group of U.S. Special Operations veterans reportedly launched a mission Wednesday night to rescue members of Afghan elite forces and their families, according to ABC News.

The mission, called the “Pineapple Express,” uses volunteer veterans as well as the U.S. military to move people in small groups to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to ABC News.

Since the U.S. military is unable to leave the airport, they have provided support for the “Pineapple Express” ground team, according to ABC News.

Individuals were added to an encrypted group chat and given locations to meet their “conductor,” ABC News reported. Once the “conductor” would be close, individuals would hold up their phones with a picture of yellow pineapples on a pink field. (RELATED: Military Says They Are Relying On Taliban To ‘Protect’ Them In Kabul)

“Dozens of high-risk individuals, families with small children, orphans, and pregnant women, were secretly moved through the streets of Kabul throughout the night and up to just seconds before ISIS detonated a bomb into the huddled mass of Afghans seeking safety and freedom,” said retired Green Beret Commander Lt. Col. Scott Man, ABC News reported.

The group said Thursday Morning it had escorted around 500 Afghan allies and their families to the Kabul airport, according to ABC News