Time was running out for Mohammad Khalid Wardak, a high-profile Afghan national police officer who spent years working alongside the American military.

Hunted by the Taliban, he was hiding with his family in Kabul, constantly moving from place to place as they tried — and failed — several times to reach a rendezvous point where they could be rescued.

After at least four attempts in as many days, the family finally was whisked away by helicopter Wednesday in a dramatic rescue — called Operation Promise Kept — carried out under cover of darkness by the US military and its allies, said Robert McCreary, a former congressional chief of staff and White House official under President George W. Bush, who has worked with special forces in Afghanistan.

The rescue of Khalid, as he’s called by friends, came after frantic efforts by his supporters in the US military, who said he was a brother in arms who helped save countless lives and faced certain death if found by the Taliban. They sought help from members of Congress and the Defense and State departments.

“I don’t think people understand the chaos that is reigning right now in the capital, the brutality and the efficient lethality the Taliban are using … to ensure their rise to power as they eliminate their greatest threat, which is these military and special police,” said US Army Special Forces Sgt. Major Chris Green, who worked with Khalid in Afghanistan.

Khalid and his family were unable to get inside the airport where the Taliban controlled the entrances. He was widely known because of his position as police chief in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province and from television appearances, including one in which he challenged the Taliban to a fight, supporters said.

Green said he was “incredibly happy … elated,” when he learned that Khalid and his family were safe, noting that some of his American rescuers had worked alongside Khalid, which he called “serendipitous.”

McCreary said multiple allies, including the British, helped, and that Khalid, his wife, and their four sons, ages 3 to 12, were “safe in an undisclosed location under the protection of the United States.”

Officials said other Afghan partners, including police and military, also deserved to be saved and that more rescue efforts were in progress, but they could not discuss details.