US evacuates Afghan interpreter who helped rescue Joe Biden in 2008

An Afghan interpreter who helped rescue then Sen. Joe Biden after his helicopter made an emergency landing during a snowstorm in 2008, has managed to leave the region with his family.

Aman Khalili with his family remained in hiding after the Taliban takeover in August and crossed over to Pakistan last week in a joint effort by a group of Arizona military veterans, aid organizations and, ultimately, the Department of State. They flew on a US government aircraft to Doha, Qatar, where thousands of refugees from Afghanistan are being processed by US officials.

Khalili, his wife and five children had been unable to flee in the emergency airlift after the fall of Kabul, but managed to escape with the help of US military veterans and former Afghan soldiers, the Wall Street Journal reported.

During his 2008 visit to Afghanistan, a helicopter carrying Biden, along with then-Sens. John Kerry and Chuck Hagel, made an emergency landing because of a snowstorm. A group of US service members and their Afghan partners helped rescue them over land, including a man identified as Aman Khalili by the Wall Street Journal, which first reported his story.

Following the chaotic US withdrawal in August, Khalili had called upon President Biden to save him, his wife and five children. "I trust him," he told CNN. "I trust that he can do everything."