Confusing firefight at Afghanistan's airport leaves 4 soldiers dead

KABUL

When an Afghan soldier opened fire at the entrance to the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, four soldiers were killed and three injured in the turmoil when foreign security forces responded.

It occurred late Monday after special forces soldier found his friend's body in a vehicle in front of the airport.

The soldier allegedly had a nervous breakdown and opened fire into the air. International forces on watch in the region, responded, thinking that they were being attacked.

Roughly 37,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the US took control of the airport on Aug. 14. That figure includes about 10,400 who were evacuated on US military flights from early Sunday until early Monday, according to the White House.

The Taliban’s lightning takeover of the capital on Aug. 15 set off a scramble to leave Afghanistan, including among locals who have worked with US forces and organizations and fear for their lives under Taliban rule.