Afghanistan: US, allies warn of ‘terror threat’ at Kabul airport

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Afghanistan: US, allies warn of ‘terror threat’ at Kabul airport

Aug 26, 2021: The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have called on people to stay away from Kabul International Airport because of the threat posed by ISIS in Afghanistan.

The warning came on Thursday as Western troops rushed to evacuate as many of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans as possible before the August 31 withdrawal deadline.

The U.S. embassy in Afghanistan capital Kabul issued an alert urging U.S. citizens to refrain from traveling to the airport and to evacuate those already at the gates. They referred to unspecified “security threats”.

The British Foreign Office issued a similar advisory, urging people in the airport area to “move to a safer place”, adding that “there is an ongoing and increasing risk of a terrorist attack.”

” The Australian Foreign Office has also appealed to Australians and Afghans with Australian visas to leave the area, warning of a “high risk of a terrorist attack” at the airport.

Crowds of people seeking to flee the Taliban have sought access to Kabul airport since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital August 15.

In the largest air evacuation in the history of the airport, planes are now taking off every 39 minutes, according to the U.S. military.

US and Taliban have a deal and the Taliban are only allowed to let people through here who have foreign passports, who have visas and who have paperwork that is verified. Those who are cleared to leave are put on designated buses and the rest are pushed back.

The Taliban have promised security outside the airport but said foreign troops should leave by the end of the month.

Encouraging Afghans to stay, they said those who were allowed to leave would be allowed to do so even after the resumption of commercial flights after the departure of foreign troops. As the crowd continues to swell outside the airfield, security officials say they see an increased likelihood of an ISKP attack, which security officials see as a rival to the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The White House said US President Joe Biden was briefed about the threat from the ISKP group as well as contingency plans for the evacuation.

Although the Taliban have said they will respect human rights and will not allow “terrorists” to operate in the country, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told broadcaster NBC News that There is no evidence that Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda’s last leader, was involved in the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington.

“Even after 20 years of war, there is no evidence, we have no evidence that he was involved; there was no justification for this war,” he said.

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