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Taliban to allow 200 people including Americans to fly out of Kabul airport

Taliban fighters stand guard inside the Hamid Karzai International Airport after the U.S. withdrawal in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The Taliban were in full control of Kabul's international airport on Tuesday, after the last U.S. plane left its runway, marking the end of America's longest war. (AP Photo/Kathy Gannon)

(CNN) — About 200 people, among them US nationals, have been cleared by the Taliban to leave Kabul on a Qatari flight, a source with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Thursday.

It is unclear at this stage how many Americans are expected to be on board the flight to Doha or what the nationalities of the remaining evacuees may be.

The Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaki, thanked Qatari special envoy Mutlaq Al-Qahtani for his country’s efforts in restarting flights out of Kabul International Airport, the Taliban said in a statement posted on an official account Thursday.

CNN has reached out to the White House, the US National Security Council and the Taliban for comment.

The last US military planes left the city’s airport just ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline, marking the full withdrawal of American forces. That landmark moment came only two weeks after the Taliban seized control of the capital.