The U.S. State Department told Breitbart News Tuesday it is unaware of the Americans Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said died while trying to flee Afghanistan, including a three-year-old girl, a two-year-old boy, and the boy’s mother.
During an appearance on Breitbart News Saturday over the weekend, Mullin attributed the deaths to President Joe Biden’s U.S. withdrawal, described as “fatally flawed” even by members of his party.
Mullin, who has helped his team on the ground in Afghanistan evacuate U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs), stressed that the State Department is aware of the identities of the deceased but refuses to report them to the public.
Nevertheless, a State Department spokesperson told Breitbart News via email, “While we are not aware of a case fitting [Rep. Mullin’s] description described in the article, our hearts are with all families who have suffered or lost a loved one due to events in Afghanistan.”
U.S. Airmen and U.S. Marines guide qualified evacuees aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA), Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brennen Lege)
The spokesperson emphasized that while the State Department remains committed to evacuating LPRs and at-risk Afghans, bringing American citizens home is the Biden administration’s top priority.
In response to the department’s statement, Rep. Mullin told Breitbart News on Tuesday that their words do not match their actions on the ground.
“Their words are cheap, and actions are loud,” Mullin proclaimed. “Nothing the State Department has done to date shows American citizens have been a priority, much less LPRs.”
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on April 15, 2021, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)
Asked whether or not the State Department is aware of any nonmilitary American citizens who died or were killed in Afghanistan after it ordered the Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO), the spokesperson declined to answer.
Mullin told Breitbart News Saturday the department refused to allow the three-year-old girl into the Kabul airport when the U.S. military was still evacuating Americans before President Joe Biden pulled them out at the end of August because her parents were LPRs.
“While our first priority is always U.S. citizens, we will continue to communicate with LPRs and seek to assist wherever possible,” the spokesperson told Breitbart News. “Our effort to ensure safe passage for those who want it does not end on any particular date.”
According to the congressman, the Biden administration blocked his team from evacuating the three-year-old girl overland across Afghanistan’s border with Tajikistan.
Taliban fighters gather along a street during a rally in Kabul on August 31, 2021, as they celebrate after the US pulled all its troops out of the country to end a brutal 20-year war — one that started and ended with the hardline Islamist in power. (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images)
“Because they wouldn’t help us get her out, September 10, she passed away from septic,” the Oklahoma Republican said Saturday of the American child.
Mullin also accused the State Department of not reporting the death of a two-year-old boy and his mother, both Americans.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken participate in a meeting with President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea in the State Dining Room of the White House on May 21, 2021. (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)
The congressman said the August 26 attack on the Kabul airport claimed by the Islamic State’s (ISIS) branch in Afghanistan killed them along with the 13 U.S. service members and scores of Afghans.
Biden’s U.S. military withdrawal on August 31 ended a two-week-long military rescue effort before evacuating all U.S. citizens, LPRs, and Afghan allies from the country taken over by the Taliban on August 15. Some Americans remain stranded in Afghanistan, Ned Price, a State Department spokesman, indicated Monday, noting that the Biden administration has “assisted 105 U.S. citizens and 95 lawful permanent residents to depart” since late September.
“An additional number of U.S. citizens and LPRs have departed on private charters or have independently crossed via land border, and they are not included in those tallies,” Price added.
Evacuees board an Atlas aircraft bringing them from Afghanistan to the United States from the Ramstein Air Base on August 26, 2021, in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. Ramstein has become one of the main preliminary destinations for evacuees leaving Afghanistan on U.S. military flights. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Since the United States troops left, the State Department, which has no personnel on the ground, has been leading the American evacuation efforts, coordinating the rescue of U.S. citizens on chartered flights.
“The State Department has established a team to coordinate across government agencies and with advocacy groups, nonprofits, and others,” the spokesperson told Breitbart News. “The team is working closely with DoD [Department of Defense] and other partners to facilitate freedom of movement for those who wish to leave Afghanistan, including U.S. citizens, LPRs, and at-risk Afghans to whom we have a commitment to assist.”
Some Americans desperate to leave Afghanistan have turned to private security services to effect their evacuation. The State Department has obstructed some private rescue efforts, an internal email obtained by Fox News revealed, echoing a Democrat lawmaker.