White House spokesperson admits ‘we don’t have a precise number’ on Americans in Afghanistan

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White House communications director Kate Bedingfield admitted in an interview with CNN that the US did not know the precise number of Americans in Afghanistan.

“We don’t have a precise number,” Ms Bedingfield said. “What we’re doing is working to identify how many Americans are there.”

The statement comes as the United States is attempting to evacuate all US citizens as well as its partners in the nation after the Afghan army collapsed and the Taliban retook Afghanistan.

“As of a few weeks ago, we had already begun reaching out to all American citizens who were in Afghanistan via email, via text, via messaging app to hear from them and to understand their plans and work with them to get them out, if they want to get out,” she said. “And so that is a massive logistical operation that’s underway.”

At the same time, Ms Bedingfield did not guarantee that every American would be safely transported from Afghanistan, Politico reported.

“The president has committed, we will get every American who wants to get out, out of Afghanistan. And we are working to move as many of our allies – who helped us, who stood by us, who helped our servicemen and women – get out as possible,” she said.