WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has said that the US troops may stay in Afghanistan beyond his withdrawal deadline, as armed Taliban fighters kept desperate evacuees from reaching Kabul’s airport, BBC said.

President Biden wants US forces out by the end of this month, but up to 15,000 US citizens are stranded in the country, the report said.

The US President also said that the crisis in Kabul was unavoidable.

About 4,500 US troops are in temporary control of Karzai International Airport in the nation’s capital, but Taliban fighters and checkpoints ring the perimeter, BBC reported.

The Taliban are blocking Afghans without travel documents – but even those with valid authorization have struggled.

(With inputs from BBC)