© 2026 ABC News

On the outer perimeter, where Taliban soldiers inspect documents, Fox said one of them hit him with a \"fan belt\" as other militants jabbed people with weapons and fired warning shots.

As Fox's group neared the gate where U.S. troops were, it became apparent the situation was deteriorating, he said.

\"The Marines are just firing their weapons, firing warning shots in the air, throwing flash bangs. And every time they would do a series of volleys of warning shots, the whole crowd would surge back,\" he said. \"If we stayed there longer, there was the chance that we would, you know, pass out from exhaustion.\"

A U.S. official told ABC News on Friday that there are now 5,800 troops at the airport, but the American Embassy in Kabul still issued a security alert saying the U.S. government \"cannot ensure safe passage to the airport\" as the soldiers aren't pushing out into the city.

\"PHOTO:
Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: U.S. soldiers stand guard behind barbed wire as Afghans sit on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul, Aug. 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan.
>

Recent reports have highlighted growing fears of Taliban reprisals against Afghans who worked with the U.S., despite Taliban leaders declaring an amnesty for those individuals.

Taliban fighters executed nine ethnic Hazara men in the Afghan city of Ghazni last month, according to Amnesty International, as reports continue to trickle in of human rights abuses during their lightning-quick capture of all but one of the country's 34 provinces. Amnesty International said the killings \"likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date.\"

While the situation in Kabul remains as uncertain as ever, the chaos at the airport may mean that Fox will have to bide his time before he and his family can flee.

\"For me as a father, I have to weigh the risk of [getting to] the airport -- to me the airport is very dangerous,\" Fox said. \"The issue of the mob at the airport is that there is a belief in Afghan society that if you can get into that airport by hook or by crook, then you will get on a free flight to America ... so we are going to wait until evacuation flights stop and commercial flights resume.\"

ABC News' Conor Finnegan and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/International/american-thwarted-trip-dangerous-kabul-airport-family-wait/story?id=79558748","legacySlug":"/news/story/american-thwarted-trip-dangerous-kabul-airport-family-wait-79558748","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"19:34","publishDate":"08-20-2021","updatedTime":"20:10","updatedDate":"08-20-2021","socialImage":{"alt":"Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul, Aug. 20, 2021, hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan.","credit":"Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/International/kabul-airportroad-gty-ps-210920_1629476356844_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"8/20/2021 19:34:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":79558748,"headline":"Stranded American: Kabul airport 'very dangerous' ","mediaAssetTitle":"AMERICAN STUCK IN AFGHANISTAN","description":"David Fox has been desperately trying to get his family out of Afghanistan. ","duration":"8:39","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210819_abcnl_prime_fox_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132055565","131830882","130993584"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Stranded American: Kabul airport 'very dangerous' ","description":"David Fox has been desperately trying to get his family out of Afghanistan. ","duration":"8:39","uploadDate":"08-20-2021","publication":"08-20-2021","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210819_abcnl_prime_fox_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/08/210819_abcnl_prime_fox_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/american-thwarted-trip-dangerous-kabul-airport-family-wait-79558748"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Stranded American: Kabul airport 'very dangerous' ","pubTime":"15:34","pubDate":"08-20-2021","modTime":"16:10","modDate":"08-20-2021","taxonomyTags":"none","id":79558748,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Stranded American: Kabul airport 'very dangerous' ","mediaAssetTitle":"AMERICAN STUCK IN AFGHANISTAN","videoId":79558748,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/american-thwarted-trip-dangerous-kabul-airport-family-wait-79558748"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/79558748","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/79558748","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};