WASHINGTON, 20 August 2021, (TON): US troops may stay in Afghanistan past an Aug 31 deadline to evacuate Americans, President Joe Biden said, and the Pentagon said “the US military does not currently have the ability to reach people beyond the Kabul airport.”

"If there's American citizens left, we're going to stay until we get them all out," Biden told media in an interview conducted on a day many US lawmakers pressed him to extend the deadline that he had set for a final pullout.

Biden has come under fierce criticism for his handling of the withdrawal, which in recent days has been dominated by scenes of chaos in and around the Kabul airport with people desperately trying to get out of the country.

Biden defended his decisions, saying problems were inevitable in ending the 20-year US involvement there.

He said "the idea that somehow, there's a way to have gotten out without chaos ensuing, I don't know how that happens.”

He also said “the Taliban is cooperating for now in helping get Americans out of the country but we're having some more difficulty in evacuating US-aligned Afghan citizens.”