Afghan man who helped US soldiers says he fears beheading by Taliban

An Afghan man who worked as a translator for the U.S. military in an interview on CBS broadcast Friday said he is worried that he will be beheaded by the Taliban after failing to flee the country.

In an interview with CBS foreign correspondent Roxana Saberi, Omid Mahmoodi said that with the Taliban back in power for the first time since U.S. troops first toppled the group in 2001, he is at an increased risk of being targeted due to the support he provided to U.S. forces. 

“They will kill me, and they will behead me,” Mahmoodi said. 

When asked by Saberi if he was “afraid of being left behind,” the former translator responded, “I have already been left behind.” 

One Afghan who was a recent interpreter for US military filmed his multiple attempts to get into Kabul airport for evacuation. “I have already been left behind,” he told @roxanasaberi, saying he fears beheadings.
He continues to wait–he didn’t make it on a flight this morning. pic.twitter.com/7selmON5Nk

— Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) August 20, 2021

Mahmoodi this week filmed repeated failed attempts to make it onto one of the U.S. evacuation flights out of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. 

State Department spokesman Ned Price on Thursday said that about 6,000 people have been processed for evacuation at the airport, with a total of about 7,000 people, including 2,000 Americans, evacuated since last Saturday.

The Biden administration is working to evacuate Afghans eligible for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), which are granted to Afghan nationals who assisted the U.S. government during its military operations in Afghanistan. 

Mahmoodi previously expressed fear that he was in danger amid the U.S. troop withdrawal, saying in a June interview with CBS News, “time is running out.” 

“If we are left behind, we will get slaughtered by the Taliban,” he added at the time. 

The Taliban on Thursday officially declared the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” just days after capturing the capital city of Kabul and toppling Afghanistan’s government. 

Despite stated assurances by the Taliban that they wish to govern peacefully, a new government led by the insurgent group has fueled fears of a return to the period before the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, when the Taliban governed brutally and granted few rights to citizens, especially women and girls. 

A bipartisan group of 55 senators on Wednesday sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to “immediately evacuate” SIVs, and also “expeditiously implement” the Afghan Allies Protection Act, which Biden signed into law last month. 

The law mandates adding 8,000 more visas to the SIV program, and also removing obstacles that previously made it difficult for eligible Afghans to receive a visa.