Due to the threat of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State, the United States and its allies urged people to leave the Kabul airport on Thursday (August 26) because Western troops are eager to evacuate as many Afghans as possible before the August 31 deadline.
The pressure to help thousands of foreigners and Afghans in Western countries complete the evacuation during the 20-year war with the Taliban is increasing. All American and Allied forces will leave the airport next week.
In an alert issued on Wednesday night, the US Embassy in Kabul advised citizens to avoid going to the airport and stated that those already at the boarding gate should leave immediately, citing unspecified “security threats.”
In a similar consultation, the UK told people in the airport area to “move to a safe place”.
The British Foreign Office said in a statement: “Terrorist attacks continue to exist and are highly threatened.”
Australia also urged its citizens and visa holders to leave the area, warning that there is a “very high threat of terrorist attacks” at the airport.
These warnings were issued against the chaotic background of the capital Kabul and its airport, which has been carrying out large-scale airlifts to foreign nationals and their families and some Afghans since the Taliban occupied the city on August 15.
When the Western army at the airport worked feverishly to evacuate as quickly as possible, Taliban fighters guarded the periphery, and thousands of people tried to flee instead of staying in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Ahmedullah Rafiqzai, an Afghan civil aviation official working at the airport, said that despite warnings of the attack, people continued to crowd around the gate.
“Suicide bombers can easily attack overcrowded corridors and have repeatedly issued warnings,” he told Reuters.
“But people don’t want to move, they are determined to leave the country, they are not even afraid of death, everyone is risking their lives.”
A NATO diplomat based in the capital of Afghanistan said that although the Taliban is responsible for security outside the airport, the threat of the Islamic State cannot be ignored.
The diplomat added: “Western troops do not want to launch offensive or defensive attacks on anyone in Afghanistan under any circumstances.” “Our task is to ensure that the evacuation is completed on August 31.”
Another Western official said that flight operations slowed down on Wednesday, but the speed of evacuation will accelerate on Thursday.
An official of the Islamic organization said that Taliban guards continued to protect civilians outside the airport.
“Our guards are also risking their lives at Kabul Airport, and they are also facing threats from the Islamic State group,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The White House stated that President Joe Biden heard a briefing on the threat of the ISIS-K militant group and the emergency plan for evacuation on Wednesday.
Biden has ordered all troops to withdraw from Afghanistan before the end of this month to comply with the agreement reached with the Taliban, although European allies said they need more time for people to evacuate.
In the 11 days since the Taliban swept Kabul, the United States and its allies have carried out one of the largest aerial evacuations in history, evacuating more than 88,000 people, of which 19,000 have been evacuated in the past 24 hours. The U.S. military stated that aircraft take off every 39 minutes.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Brinken said that since mid-August, at least 4,500 U.S. citizens and their families have been evacuated from Afghanistan, and the State Department is getting in touch with the approximately 1,500 people remaining there.
Brinken said at a press conference in Washington that efforts to help Americans and others who want to leave have no deadline and will continue “as long as they are needed.”
The U.S. military stated that it will focus on the withdrawal of its own troops in the last two days before the August 31 withdrawal deadline.
The Taliban stated that foreign troops must be withdrawn before the end of the month. They encouraged Afghans to stay, and said that once commercial flights resume after the departure of foreign troops, those who are allowed to leave will still be allowed to leave.
The militant group has asked NATO member Turkey to help keep the airport open after foreign troops leave. Turkey said that technical experts may stay to help operate the airport.
The United Nations will leave approximately 3,000 Afghan staff in its mission. A UN security document reviewed by Reuters describes dozens of threats, robberies and staff abuses of UN offices since August 10.
The hallmarks of the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule were public executions and restrictions on fundamental freedoms. Women are forbidden to go to school or work.
The U.S.-backed Afghan government quickly collapsed after Biden withdrew. This is two decades after U.S.-backed forces expelled the Taliban within a few weeks of the September 11, 2001 attack on the United States. Al Qaeda planned to launch an attack from Afghan territory.
Although the Taliban stated that they would respect human rights and would not allow terrorists to operate in the country, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC News that “there is no evidence” that the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was involved in 9/ to New York And 11 terrorist attacks in Washington.
“Even after 20 years of war, there is no evidence. We have no evidence that he was involved…There is no reason for this war,” he said.
