Canadians among those on board Qatari commercial flight out of Afghanistan

OTTAWA — Senior government officials say an unknown number of Canadians are among around 200 foreigners who flew out of Afghanistan on a commercial flight today.

The Qatar Airways flight from Kabul to Doha is the first such-large scale departure from Afghanistan since U.S. and other forces completed their frantic withdrawal from the country more than a week ago.

Officials are expecting the flight to land in Qatar this afternoon, at which point the government will be able to determine how many Canadians managed to escape.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau revealed on Aug. 31 that around 1,250 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and family members were stranded in Afghanistan following the end of a U.S.-led mass evacuation effort.