U.S. will evacuate some threatened Afghan visa applicants

The evacuation, dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, is set to start during the last week of July, Jen Psaki told a briefing. Fighting between U.S.-backed Afghan forces and the Taliban has surged in recent weeks, with the militants gaining territory and capturing border crossings.

President Joe Biden has set a formal end to the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan for Aug. 31. The U.S. general leading the mission, Austin Miller, relinquished command at a ceremony on Monday, a symbolic end to America's longest war.

Psaki said she could not provide specifics on the numbers of Afghans who will be in the initial evacuation flights "for operational and security reasons."