3 babies born on Afghanistan evacuation flights, US general says

An Army general said Monday that three women have given birth aboard evacuation flights out of Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover last week.

“My last data point was three,” four-star Gen. Stephen Lyons said at a Pentagon press briefing.

Lyons, a central figure in the airlift as commander of US Transportation Command, did not offer additional details on the births — of which only one was previously reported.

Lyons made the revelation as he described the evacuation of 48,000 people since August 14, of whom 10,900 were airlifted in a 12-hour period Monday from Kabul’s airport.

Most of the evacuees are Afghans fearful of the Islamic fundamentalist group. Nearly 4,000 Americans also have been rescued, a US official told The Post on Monday.

“We do not have medics on every flight,” Lyons said in response to a question, before volunteering: “Really exciting, I mean, I really appreciate the news reporting on the baby being born as that flight came into Ramstein. As a matter of fact, there’s actually been more than that.”

Reporters clamored for more information on the number of babies — yielding the new figure. Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said he would run down details on the deliveries.

The US military on Sunday said that an Afghan woman delivered a baby girl aboard a US evacuation flight just after landing at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. She went into labor aboard a C-17 transport aircraft.

“The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilize and save the mother’s life,” the US Air Mobility Command wrote on Twitter.