As many as 100 Afghan evacuees flown out of war-torn Kabul are on intelligence agency watch lists, a United States government official warned on Tuesday as it was revealed one passenger flown out to Qatar has potential ties to ISIS.
The Afghans, potential candidates for Special Immigration Visas (SIV), were flagged as possible matches to intelligence agency watch lists by the Defense Department's Automated Biometric Identification System, an official with the U.S. government told Defense One.
The Afghan who has potential ties to ISIS was detected by security screeners at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after they were evacuated from Kabul Airport, another official told the outlet. There have been 6,000 Afghans taken to the air base.
'Intelligence, law enforcement, and counterterrorism professionals are conducting screening and security vetting for all SIV applicants and other vulnerable Afghans before they are allowed into the United States,' a State Department spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
'We are surging resources to evaluate each case and process these as efficiently as possible to protect homeland security.'
The State Department declined to confirm to DailyMail.com whether any immigrants have been flagged for having ties to ISIS, and it is unclear if they were processed before or after leaving Kabul.
As many as 100 Afghan evacuees flown out of war-torn Kabul are on intelligence agency watch lists, US official warned on Tuesday
Evacuees from Afghanistan are pictured arriving at Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar's capital Doha
They were flagged as possible matches to intelligence agency watch lists by the Defense Department's Automated Biometric Identification System. Pictured: Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul
The Afghan who has potential ties to ISIS was detected by security screeners at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar after they were evacuated from Kabul Airport
The Afghan evacuees are being screened against law enforcement databases using biometric data including facial recognition, iris scans and fingerprints by agents with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).
Officials told Defense One there 'certainly' have been some Afghans who triggered alerts - but, in most cases, they have already been cleared after further screening.
However, the CBP agents are facing challenges in screening the incredible number of SIV applicants such as using old vetting systems that 'could not integrate' with the Defense Department's biometric database information, Defense One reported.
'CBP on the ground has old tech and they don't know how to use it, integrate it. And there's not enough people to process' all of the evacuees,' an official said.
The technology can take up to an hour for the system to determine whether someone is a potential security risk - and officials maintained that the system is working, but slowly.
The officials who spoke with Defense One noted that most of the security alerts have been flagged at Al Udeid, but that they 'can't rule it out' that alerts are happening at other temporary bases.
Another military-focused publication, Stars and Stripes, noted that service members at Al Udeid are feeling the toll from the mass evacuation of Afghanistan - one of the largest military operations in history.
Qatar air base, pictured, holds Afghan refugees in a 'sweltering living hell' covered in 'rats, feces and urine', a leaked US Central Command memo revealed
A member of the Taliban stands guard as Afghans gather outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport to flee the country in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday
Families board a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday
'Been doing this 12-16 (hours), no days off since the s--t hit the fan,' one Facebook user wrote on a page for Al Udeid residents.
'Now I love the fact I'm helping people and I wouldn't know what to do if I was in (their) shoes, but I just want some real rest ... cause I'm shutting down slowly. ... I'm mf TIRED ok.'
One American worker at the base told Stars and Stripes he worked 22-hour days for three days straight, which included 10 hours a day of volunteering.
Soldiers explained that there are not enough translators, and ice to keep water cool was running low despite scorching 120-degree temperatures, Stars and Stripes reported.
The outlet noted that the air base has become so full of evacuees that one plane circled overhead for two hours before it could land.
'To give these people a new chance at life was worth it,' the person wrote. 'Guys in (Al Udeid) are still swamped right now.'
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