Army vet refutes State Dept's claims on rescue of American family: 'Taliban did interfere'

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Army vet pushes back after State Dept takes credit for rescue of four Americans

Army combat veteran Cory Mills, who led a woman and her three children out of Afghanistan, says there are 'inaccuracies' from the State Department on how the family was evacuated.

Cory Mills, an Army combat veteran, is pushing back after the U.S. State Department took credit for the rescue of an American woman and her three children from Afghanistan. On "Fox & Friends," Mills described leading the family out of the country after U.S. troops had withdrawn. 

The State Department claimed Monday that it facilitated the family’s evacuation by overland route and that the Taliban was aware and did not interfere.

"There’s quite a bit of inaccuracies there," Mills said. 

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"The Taliban did interfere. I have multiple conversations recorded where the Taliban says on certain occasions, especially the commander who is there. … He says, ‘we have no agreement, we have no coordination with the Americans to allow you to pass.’ "

Mills told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade that his team had to trick Taliban officials into allowing them to cross the border.

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"We had to go through a lot of kind of shell-game trickery, utilizing multiple phones," Mills said. "And that was how we eventually tricked them into allowing us clearance to get this family across."

After initially being alerted to the situation by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, Mills and his private team of military veterans worked for weeks to rescue the family.

Mills said the original plan was to conduct an air evacuation, but the State Department and U.S. Central Command "absolutely thwarted" their attempt.

"I could have put 25 Americans onto that plane. And as we were at like 9,000 feet in descent, landing gear down with approved PPR (prior permission required) landing slot, they waved us off."

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Mills was informed by ground commanders that his plane was not permitted to land unless given express approval by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley.

"They gave no explanation," Mills said.

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"This is politics being played out by the State Department."