Young Afghan Soccer Star Dies Attempting To Flee Kabul, Taliban Forces

Zaki Anwari, a 17-year-old Afghan soccer star, was identified among the deceased found at the tarmac scene out of Kabul on Monday.

The teenager fell to his death after he attempted to cling to the side of a C-17 plane evacuating citizens out of Kabul airport. Afghan people were seen hanging onto the wheels of the aircraft. Those who hung onto the wheels were reportedly discovered horrifically entangled in the aircraft's landing gear when the plane arrived at its destination.

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On Monday, thousands of people in Kabul fled to Hamid Karzai International Airport to board a flight out of the country as Taliban forces made their way into the capital. The armed militia began to surround the remaining landmark, terrorizing both adults and children, including Anwari.

In a follow-up interview with The New York Times, Aref Peyman — head of media relations for the sports federation and Afghanistan’s Olympic Committee — spoke about Anwari's doe-eyed belief in freedoms that were quickly erased by the presence of the Taliban armed forces. Peyman said, "He was kind and patient, but like so many of our young people he saw the arrival of the Taliban as the end of his dreams and sports opportunities. He had no hope and wanted a better life.”

An image released from Monday's emergency evacuation showed hundreds of people crammed inside the Air Force plane that Anwari desperately attempted to board. Thousands of people remain on standby within the Afghan capital city as the United States government responds to an international disaster, twenty years in the making.

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During a sit down with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, President Biden downplayed the criticism and pleas for immediate evacuation out of Kabul. One of his responses gave Americans a glimpse at the lack of interest and knowledge on the issue coming from the White House.

Biden responded, "Look, no one's being killed right now. God forgive me if I'm wrong about that."

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