(WASHNGTON) — When the young boy, just 13 or 14 years-old, was safely inside the gates of Kabul’s international airport, U.S. State Department officials there asked two questions: Where were his parents? And why was there blood all over his clothes?

“He said that somebody was killed right in front of him, and his whole family dispersed,” said a State Department official, recounting their harrowing 12 days on the ground in Afghanistan.

They were one of dozens of U.S. diplomats who, along with thousands of U.S. troops, helped evacuate more than 123,000 of their fellow Americans, Afghans, and other foreigners fleeing the Taliban.

But that effort also left behind as many as 200 U.S. citizens who were trying to escape and the “majority” of Afghans who worked with U.S. diplomatic and military personnel, according to a senior State Department official, and now fear their lives are at risk from Taliban reprisals.

“Everybody who lived it is haunted by the choices we had to make and by the people we were not able to help depart in this first phase of the operation,” said the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity at the State Department’s request.

The all-hands-on-deck effort marshaled hundreds of State Department personnel in Washington and at embassies around the world, even rivaling the global repatriation operation at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in spring 2020, according to officials.

Afghanistan Coordination Task Force, an emergency operation headquartered at the State Department, has brought together hundreds of U.S. officials across agencies, including from the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services, which manages refugee resettlement, and helped coordinate approximately 55,000 calls and 33,000 emails to U.S. citizens in Afghanistan to try to bring them to safety, according to the department. As that operation shifts to help Americans and Afghans left behind, the senior State Department official conceded the evacuation efforts weren’t “pretty, it was very challenging. … It involved some really painful tradeoffs and choices for everybody involved.”

The youngest of those Americans still there may be “Ali,” whose real name ABC News is not using to protect him and his family. The three-year-old boy was born in the Sacramento area, and both his father “Ramin” and mother “Sahar” are U.S. lawful permanent residents, or Green card holders. Ramin moved the family, including Ali’s three older siblings, to Kabul a couple of years ago, drawn to a career as a social worker in his home country.

But with the collapse of the Afghan government – the speed of which surprised even U.S. officials – they scrambled to get out, the family told ABC News affiliate KGO. They said they received instructions from the U.S. embassy in Kabul on how to approach the airport, but were beaten back and blocked by Taliban fighters – too fearful to attempt again.

The senior State Department official said while there was enough cooperation with the Taliban to get tens of thousands of evacuees through, it regularly broke down when the militant group’s checkpoints were overwhelmed by the crowds or when messages from leadership didn’t travel fast enough to fighters on the ground.

“We had zero ability to control that inflow beyond the physical gates of the airport complex,” they told reporters Wednesday.

The State Department’s operation also struggled to provide detailed instructions on how to access the airport to Americans and Afghan partners that wouldn’t end up spreading through the massive crowds. Instead, any unique credential was quickly shared and became useless for U.S. and allied service members manning the fortified walls of Kabul airport.

“It was no longer a viable credential to differentiate among populations, and we simply did not have the people or the time to be able to try to sift through that crowd of people demanding access,” the senior official said.

That meant especially for Afghans who worked for the U.S. — sometimes known as SIVs, for the special immigrant visas they’ve applied for — were left in the crowds.

“We weren’t able to differentiate in the ways we all wanted to pull in those SIV populations,” the senior official added, declining to provide any figures for how many were evacuated, but saying “anecdotal evidence” suggested the “majority” were not.

Operations to rescue Americans, Afghan partners, and other foreigners also became increasingly dangerous as the operation stretched on. The threat from ISIS-K became horribly real when a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside Abbey Gate last Thursday, killing at least 182 people, including 13 U.S. service members.

But officials were also concerned about the crowds themselves, especially as desperation grew with the clock ticking down to President Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline.

“It’s not a criticism of the people who were desperate to leave, it’s just the characteristics of human behavior in those kinds of conditions — I think people don’t understand that those crowds that were outside the access points were on the verge of flipping to a mob at any given moment of any given day,” said the senior official.

Now, it will be up to U.S. consular officers to help the hundreds of other Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan partners escape whatever comes next in Afghanistan.

“It was really disheartening,” a second consular officer, who flew to Washington from the U.S. embassy in Canada to assist in evacuation efforts, said of the long shifts on the phone or emails trying to help U.S. citizens in Afghanistan.

In some cases, those individual calls provided personalized instructions for U.S. citizens and residents or at-risk Afghans to access Kabul airport, including a rally point to meet before approaching the gates amid the high threat of attack.

A third State Department official, based at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, recounted talking to an Afghan woman who only spoke Dari, the Afghan dialect of Persian, but in her basic Urdu and his broken Hindi, he was able to provide instructions on how to access the airport.

“That kept us going all the time — that everybody felt the desperation of the Afghans and wanted to help them and knew it was a matter of time, that we had limited time to help as many people as possible and everybody went out of their way,” said the first State Department official.

But sticking to that timeline has drawn outrage against Biden, accused by Republican lawmakers and some veterans’ groups of abandoning Americans and especially Afghan allies.

“The unwillingness of the U.S. government to protect these trusted allies is an unconscionable failure that could have been avoided,” Adam Bates, policy counsel at the International Refugee Assistance Project, or IRAP, said Tuesday. “The United States not only has an ongoing moral, but also a legal obligation to protect them and all Afghan allies.”

Biden rejected that in an address Tuesday, saying staying longer would have put more U.S. troops at risk by violating former President Donald Trump’s deal with the Taliban: “That was the choice, the real choice – between leaving or escalating.”

For that first State Department official, however, there was no time to dwell on the life-or-death implications for the Afghan people they encountered just inside Kabul airport’s fortified gates – some of whom they were forced to turn away if they weren’t cleared by the U.S. government to travel.

“There were so many people, the need was so great all the time, that we just tried to do what we were supposed to do and get as many people out,” said the official.

Volunteering to help process people, the official arrived with other consular officers on Aug. 17, just two days after Kabul fell to the Taliban. Working 12-hour shifts, consular officers waited behind a line of U.S. special forces to check the documents of Americans, Afghans, and others who were granted entry to the airport — before they could move through another line of U.S. forces and board evacuation flights.

Warning shots were being fired “constantly” by Afghan and Taliban troops on the perimeter, per the official, with the use of flash bangs and at least one instance of tear gas as well. Most people waited three to five days just to get inside, they added — calling it “horrendous.”

“The people that tried to get through those gates, it was a horrifying experience for them, and as consular officers, we were thrilled to be able to do what we could to evaluate their eligibility as quickly as possible,” the official said.

Among the most heartbreaking scenes were the unaccompanied minors — children who lost parents and ended up inside the airport’s walls. Scores of them have been evacuated from Kabul to Doha, Qatar, where UNICEF has custody of them and is working to reunify them with parents and family, according to State Department officials.

Asked how so many children ended up alone, the official said, “Chaos. You can’t even imagine the chaos that was outside the gate.”

“On any given day, we had over 30 children that were separated … They were all traumatized,” the official added.

At least four children were orphaned after their father was killed by the Taliban and their mother was crushed in the crowds outside the airport, a source on the ground told ABC News last week. Others may have been pushed through “for safety” by their parents, according to the State Department official, “But I can tell you any parent that did that did that out of desperation and a love for their child.”

Officials from the U.S. and allied countries, especially Norway, worked together at the airport to care for them, with service members playing with them, rocking babies, and providing supplies like diapers, food, and bottles. Norway set up a reunification center that “quickly got overwhelmed, there were so many children that were separated,” the official said.

For Ali and his family, they are at least still together. But the road ahead — perhaps literally — is unclear.

The family told KGO that they have connected with other Americans on the ground in Afghanistan, leaving a safe house in Kabul to find their own way.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.

But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Sep 01, 3:43 pm
Officials ‘haunted by choices’ at airport, ‘majority’ of SIVs left behind: State Department official

As the State Department shifts to help Americans and Afghans left behind evacuate, a senior official conceded the evacuation efforts weren’t “pretty, it was very challenging. … It involved some really painful tradeoffs and choices for everybody involved.”

“Everybody who lived it is haunted by the choices we had to make and by the people we were not able to help depart in this first phase of the operation,” a senior State Department official who was on the ground at the airport in Kabul told reporters late Wednesday morning.

But the official praised the “heroic” consular officers who processed those who entered the airport and at times walked the line looking through the massive crowds for U.S. passports and Green cards — and offered some explanations for what went wrong and arguing those crowds outside the gates bordered on “mob violence.”

The official said, based on anecdotal evidence, that “the majority” of Special Immigrant Visa holders were left behind — those Afghan interpreters, guides and others who helped U.S. forces and applied for a visa — along with their families.

“We feel an enormous commitment to keep faith with all of the people to whom we owe this debt, and we’re going to continue to do everything we can in the coming weeks and months to fulfill that commitment and to help those who wish to leave Afghanistan to do so.”

The official declined to provide more details on what that looks like just yet.

Sep 01, 2:25 pm
’Possible’ US will partner with Taliban against ISIS-K

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, asked about the relationship between the U.S. and Taliban going forward, given their recent and uneasy cooperation during the evacuation mission, offered a pragmatic view, without sugar-coating the militant group.

“We don’t know what the future of the Taliban is. But I can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group from the past, and whether or not they change remains to be seen,” Milley said. “And as far as our dealings with them at that airfield or in the past year or so, in war, you do what you must in order to reduce risk to mission and force, not what you necessarily want to do.”

Asked whether the U.S. might coordinate with the Taliban against ISIS-K, the terror group responsible for a suicide bomber attack last week which that killed 13 U.S. service members and 170 Afghans, Milley said, “It’s possible.”

Defense Secretary Austin then chimed in, “I would not want to make any predictions.”

Sep 01, 1:48 pm
Top US general to forces: ‘Your service mattered’

Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley vowed that the Pentagon will continue it counterterrorism efforts despite not having troops on the ground in Afghanistan, echoing President Biden’s remarks from Tuesday in saying the U.S. mission has changed over time.

“For the past 20 years, there’s not been a major attack on our homeland. And it is now our mission to ensure that we continue our intelligence efforts, continue our counterterrorism efforts, continue our military efforts to protect the American people for the next 20 years,” he said.

Defense Sec. Austin: “It’s our duty to defend this nation, and we’re not going to take our eye off the ball. And that means relentless counterterrorism efforts against any threat to the American people from any place.” https://t.co/Wfv8QKQBYU pic.twitter.com/zZNfMPCfms

— ABC News (@ABC) September 1, 2021

Milley said that as of Wednesday morning, approximately 20,000 Afghans have arrived at eight different military bases in the continental U.S. and more refugees are on the way. Since the evacuation mission began, he said 124,334 people were airlifted out of Afghanistan by the U.S. and partners.

“Those 124,000, they never knew the 13 who died, and they will never know the 22 who were wounded or the thousands of dead and thousands of wounded who came before them. But they will now live in freedom because of American blood shed on their behalf,” Milley said.

The top U.S. general closed his remarks with a message for service members.

“We’re all conflicted. Feelings of pain and anger, sorrow and sadness, combined with pride and resilience,” he said. “One thing I am certain of: For any soldier, sailor, Marine and their family, your service mattered, and it was not in vain.”

Sep 01, 1:26 pm
Top Pentagon officials speak on Afghanistan withdrawal

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke on the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years from the Pentagon on Wednesday, offering his thanks to U.S. forces and their families.

“We have concluded our historic evacuation operation and ended the last mission of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. America’s longest war has come to a close,” he said.

Austin hailed the historic evacuation effort in an “immensely dangerous” environment over the past few weeks. He reminded that 2,461 troops were killed in Afghanistan, as well as the more than 20,000 injured — “some still carrying the scars that you can’t see on the outside.”

Defense Sec. Austin: “My thoughts have been with the brave Americans who stood up to serve after Al-Qaeda attacked us on September 11, 2001. And my heart is with their families and loved ones.”https://t.co/Wfv8QKQBYU pic.twitter.com/ReEDPzgA6W

— ABC News (@ABC) September 1, 2021

“Our forces risk their own lives to save the lives of others. And 13 of our very best paid the ultimate price. Many of them were too young to personally remember the 9/11 attacks,” he said. “The United States military will always honor their heroism.”

Speaking directly to Afghan war veterans and their families, Austin said he understands it’s been a difficult time but said he hopes they can look back at the long conflict with “thoughtfulness and respect.”

“I’ve heard strong views from many sides in recent days, and that’s vital. That’s democracy. That’s America,” he said. “As we always do, this department will look back clearly and professionally, and learn every lesson that we can.”

“Right now, it’s time to thank all those who served in this war,” he added.

Sep 01, 12:30 pm
Putin says US achieved ‘nil’ in Afghanistan war 

Russian President Vladimir Putin again poured scorn on the U.S. military’s 20-year presence in Afghanistan, saying on Wednesday the nation achieved “nil” in an attempt to “civilize the local people.”

“The only result is tragedies and losses for those who were doing that, the United States, and especially for the people who live in the territory of Afghanistan. This is a nil result, not to say a negative one,” Putin said to teenagers at an educational facility in Russia.

Putin, who has previously said Russia has no plans to deploy troops to the country the Soviet Union once occupied but then was forced to retreat from in 1988 and 1989, claimed the U.S. approach to Afghanistan was flawed in that it tried to instill Western norms on Afghan people.

It is “impossible to impose anything from outside,” he said.

Russia, as well as China, have not yet formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate governing power but have generally shown more of a willingness to work with the militant group than have other nations.

-ABC News’ Tanya Stukalova

Sep 01, 11:44 am
Sole province uncontrolled by Taliban fights for independence

The Panjshir Valley, around 60 miles of mountain terrain in ​​north-central Afghanistan, is the only one of 34 provinces in the country not controlled by the Taliban, and the people of Panjshir have vowed to continue the fight.

Anti-Taliban forces were seen in Panjshir on Wednesday conducting military exercises and patrolling hilltops as attempts to bring the Taliban and people of Panjishir to talks have reportedly failed.

It’s unclear how many, but a number of Afghans have traveled to the region in hopes of sanctuary in what’s become a holdout for rebel fighters and known as a “historical heartland of resistance.”

Taliban General Mobin Khan said earlier this month that the Taliban are “trying to resolve the issue through talks, and Panjshir may surrender peacefully — otherwise, the responsibility for the war lies with the short-sighted.”

-ABC News’ Sohel Uddin and Guy Davies

Sep 01, 11:37 am
Taliban hold parade in Kandahar, urge civilians to stay

Taliban forces have rallied around the country to celebrate the withdrawal of U.S. ground forces, holding a parade of vehicles in the Kandahar province on Wednesday.

Haji Mohammad Yousaf, the Taliban’s governor in Kandahar, and Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid spoke to Afghans gathered at the event.

Meanwhile, in Kabul, scenes around an abandoned airport area, where crowds of Afghans civilians once gathered around U.S. troops, showed empty vehicles covered in barbed wire as Taliban fighters have taken control of the airport and its perimeter.

In an interview with “Good Morning Britain” on Wednesday, Taliban spokesperson Dr. Suhail Shaheen said those with the right documents will be allowed to leave Afghanistan, but “urged” them to stay.

-ABC News’ Guy Davies

Sep 01, 10:26 am
Taliban celebrates US departure

With all U.S. ground troops out of Afghanistan, scenes around Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Wednesday showed Taliban fighters in Afghan National Army uniforms after the militant group seized the airport, with some firing celebratory gunshots into the air — a far different picture from the days preceding.

Hours before Biden addressed the nation on Tuesday and firmly defended the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban held a mock funeral in Kabul with show caskets draped with U.S., U.K. and French flags to symbolize what it has called the defeat of NATO allies after 20 years.

The Taliban also released a video overnight they say shows their troops flying over the Kandahar province in an Afghan military helicopter as the militant group works to maintain a hold on the country.

A defiant Biden on Tuesday said that he refused to extend a “forever war” and would not be “extending a forever exit.” The president on Wednesday is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and does not have any Afghanistan-related briefings on his public schedule.

Aug 31, 6:53 pm
1st plane to bring aid since Taliban took control landed Monday

As the U.S. prepared to evacuate from Kabul airport Monday, the World Health Organization flew a plane into the country with desperately needed aid.

On Monday, 12.5 metric tons of urgent medical supplies were flown from WHO’s warehouse in Dubai to Mazar-i-Sharif airport — not to Kabul, because of the “ongoing disruptions” there, according to WHO.

This is the first medical aid plane to land in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control, according to WHO — and it comes amid a growing need and deteriorating conditions.

“WHO is exploring more options to get further shipments into the country until a reliable humanitarian airbridge to scale-up collective humanitarian effort is established,” the UN agency said in a statement.

Aug 31, 6:17 pm
Top enlisted service member tells troops their service mattered

The military’s top enlisted service member sent a message to U.S. troops reassuring them that their service in Afghanistan mattered.

“You can hold your head high that we prevented an attack on the United States homeland,” writes Ramon Colon-Lopez, the senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“To each of you, your service mattered,” he added. “This is personal to us, and we know it is personal to every one of you.”

He also praised those involved in the massive airlift from Afghanistan.

“Your actions honor the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters in arms who lost their lives or were wounded in Afghanistan,” he wrote. “Over the last two decades and the last 2 weeks. you embodied our American values of equality, liberty, and human dignity for all.”

Aug 31, 5:53 pm
US-funded journalists left behind, no updates on airport talks, overland routes

Some 500 Afghan journalists and their families who were employed by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) were left behind in Afghanistan — reporters, producers and more who worked for Voice of America and other U.S.-funded outlets, according to the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We did not forget about USAGM employees and their families, nor will we. These individuals … have not only worked for us, they have worked with us,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “We remain keenly focused on getting them out safely just as soon as we can.”

Price wouldn’t confirm how many there are or what the plans to evacuate them may be, saying it was “not prudent for us to speak to tactics.”

He cited the same reason for declining to say more about how the U.S. may help some Americans travel on overland routes to escape Afghanistan, saying only that it “reinforces the point that we’re looking at all available options to bring Americans to safety.”

Price also had no status update on the negotiations to reopen Kabul’s airport, no update on how many American citizens remain in Afghanistan and no update on a protecting power — a country that oversees U.S. interests where there is no embassy, like Switzerland in Iran or the Czech Republic in Syria.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.