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Flight Carrying U.S. Lawmakers Denied Permission to Land in Kabul, Says Report

A private jet thought to be carrying unnamed lawmakers was turned away as it sought permission to land at Kabul international airport as the U.S. winds down its mission.

It appears that yet another group of U.S. lawmakers has tried, but ultimately failed, to visit Afghanistan as thousands of people are still attempting to flee Taliban rule as the U.S. enters its final 36 hours of evacuations. CNN reports that, early Thursday, U.S. military officials in charge of the Kabul airport turned away a private jet thought to be carrying another U.S. congressional delegation. The Gulfstream jet reportedly departed from Athens, Greece, and was seen on flight tracking websites over Turkmenistan before it turned back to fly over Azerbaijan. The reported attempt comes after Seth Moulton (D-MA) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) briefly interrupted evacuations during a surprise visit on Tuesday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others condemned the visit. “We don’t want anyone to think this was a good idea,” she said. CNN didn’t name the lawmakers suspected to be the latest flight. Around 150 American citizens are thought to be in Afghanistan desperate to get to the airport before the U.S. ends its evacuation program.