US warns of fresh threats at Kabul airport as evacuations enter final phase
Aug 29, 2021: The US is on high alert for another possible terrorist attack on Kabul airport and has warned citizens to leave the area immediately, as troops have entered the final stages of withdrawing from Afghanistan and the Taliban have seized control.
The US embassy in Kabul issued an alert on Sunday, the second in several days regarding security threats at certain areas of the airport, including access gates.
This was after President Joe Biden’s first warning that there was a “high probability” of another terrorist attack in Kabul. Biden said the US drone strike, which avenged the deaths of 13 US soldiers and 170 civilians on two Islamic State targets, would not be the last such operation on Thursday.
The president has also said he will stick by his Tuesday deadline to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. On Sunday, a Western security official in the Afghan capital told Reuters just over 1,000 civilians inside the airport remain to be flown out before troops are pulled out.
The president has also said he will stick by his Tuesday deadline to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. On Sunday, a Western security official in the Afghan capital told Reuters just over 1,000 civilians inside the airport remain to be flown out before troops are pulled out.
There are reportedly fewer than 4,000 US troops left at the airport, according to Reuters and AP, down from 5,800 at the peak of the evacuation mission. On Saturday, the final UK flight carrying troops and diplomatic personnel left Kabul airport, bringing to an end Britain’s 20-year campaign in the country.
As US forces proceeded to complete the evacuation mission, the Taliban said they were ready to take charge of the airport. “We are awaiting final approval from the Americans to take full control of Kabul airport,” the official told Reuters on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
The Taliban official added that Taliban engineers and technicians were ready to take control. The Western security official said the crowds at the airport gates had receded after the US government warned of another militant attack.
Thursday’s bombing sparked bloodshed outside the airport gates, where thousands of Afghans have gathered to try to get a flight out since the Taliban returned to power August 15.
After Thursday’s bombing, Biden vowed to find the culprits.
The Taliban condemned last night’s US drone strike in Nangarhar province, an eastern region bordering Pakistan.
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