Fort Lee, Virginia – Around 2,500 Afghans who worked with US forces will be temporarily housed along with their family members at a military base in the state of Virginia, the US State Department said on Monday.

These are Afghans who have already undergone special security screening and are advanced in the application process for a US visa, department spokesperson Ned Price said.

The first resettlements from Afghanistan to the base in Fort Lee, Virginia, are to begin at the end of July.

They will stay in housing at the Fort Lee military base while the visas to allow them to stay in the United States are processed and issued, Price said.

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Despite the Taliban's significant territorial gains in recent weeks, President Joe Biden said the US military mission in Afghanistan would end on August 31 after nearly two decades.

Only a group of soldiers will remain behind to protect the US embassy in Kabul.

Afghans who worked for the US military or diplomatic contingent in roles such as interpreters can apply for special immigrant visas for the US.

Many fear reprisal from the Taliban for assisting the US.