Pentagon pulled thousands of photos of Afghans offline to protect their identities

Washington, Nov 1 (UNI/Sputnik) The United States has temporarily removed 124,000 photographs and 17,000 videos featuring Afghans who cooperated with American military from public platforms to prevent them from being identified, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.
“There were approximately 124,000 photographs and about 17,000 videos that remain unpublished,” Kirby said during a press briefing. “It was my decision, and I delegated it to the leadership at the Defense Media Activity to use their best judgment. I want it to be unpublished for a temporary period of time and it is temporary and it was done out of an abundance of caution.”
Kirby recommended the Pentagon leadership temporarily archive any imagery that could be used to identify those who cooperated with Americans during their 20-year mission in the country or their family members.
The official underscored that the images and videos were not deleted but merely archived and will be published at the “right time when it is appropriate.”