A Western security official in the Afghan capital said on Sunday that the U.S. military is in the final phase of its withdrawal from Kabul. There are more than 1,000 civilians waiting to be evacuated from the airport before the military withdraws.
The official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the date and time for the operation to end has not yet been determined.America president Joe Biden It has been stated that he will withdraw all troops from Afghanistan before the deadline on Tuesday.
“We want to ensure that all foreign civilians and people in danger are evacuated today. Once this process is over, the troops will begin to take off,” the official stationed at Kabul Airport said.
Two weeks ago, as hard-line Islamic militants entered the capital, the Western-backed government and the Afghan army disappeared, leaving an administrative vacuum and exacerbating concerns about financial collapse and widespread hunger.
A US official told Reuters on Saturday that there were fewer than 4,000 soldiers left at the airport, which was less than the 5,800 at the peak of the evacuation mission. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters that some troops have been withdrawn, but declined to say how many soldiers there are.
A Taliban official told Reuters on Sunday that the Islamic organization was preparing to take over the airport.
The official, who asked not to be named, said: “We are waiting for the American’s final nod to ensure complete control of the Kabul Airport, because the goal of both parties is to hand over quickly.”
Taliban officials added that Taliban engineers and technicians are ready to take over.
The Western security official said that after the suicide bombing outside the airport on Thursday, the U.S. government issued a specific warning of another militant attack. The crowd at the airport’s gate decreased.
That explosion triggered a massacre outside the airport gate, and since the Taliban regained power on August 15th, thousands of Afghans have gathered there to try to get a plane away.
The United States said on Friday that it killed two militants belonging to the Islamic State enemies of the West and Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, who claimed responsibility for the attack.
After Thursday’s bombing killed dozens of Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Biden vowed to hunt down the perpetrators. This was the deadliest incident for U.S. service personnel in Afghanistan in a decade. He said Friday’s strike was not the last.
The Taliban condemned the U.S. drone attack that took place in Nangarhar Province, the eastern region bordering Pakistan.
“The Americans should notify us before conducting an air strike. This is an obvious attack on Afghan territory,” a Taliban spokesperson told Reuters, adding that two women and a child were injured in the attack.
The Taliban said they have arrested some suspects involved in the airport bombing.
take over
Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Saturday that the Taliban will take over the airport “soon” after the U.S. forces withdraw and announcing the formation of a complete cabinet in the next few days.
Mujahid told Reuters that the organization has appointed governors and police chiefs in all provinces except one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces and will take action to solve the country’s economic problems.
At the end of 2001, the US-led invasion of Afghanistan overthrew the then-ruling Taliban as punishment for harboring al-Qaeda militants behind the September 11 attacks of that year.
The Taliban are facing billions of dollars in aid losses, calling on the United States and other Western countries to maintain diplomatic relations after they withdraw. The United Kingdom stated that this would only happen if the Taliban allowed safe passage for those who wanted to leave and respect human rights.
The White House stated that the next few days may be the most dangerous days of the evacuation. It said that in the past two weeks, the United States and its allies have taken about 113,500 people out of Afghanistan.
As Washington is preparing to end its mission, the U.S. military and allied countries will carry fewer people on Saturday.
The last British flight to evacuate civilians from Afghanistan left Kabul on Saturday. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said that the British army will take away a small number of Afghan citizens when they leave this weekend. The head of the armed forces, Nick Carter, said that hundreds of people who had worked with the United Kingdom would not be able to pass.
Biden is “very likely in the next 24-36 hours” to attack American soldiers in Afghanistan
Although the airport in Kabul has been in chaos, the rest of the city is generally calm. A Taliban spokesperson said that the Taliban had told residents to hand over government equipment including weapons and vehicles within a week.
The airport attack intensified the criticism that Biden faced at home and abroad for the chaos after the Afghan government and army collapsed before the Taliban’s lightning advance. He defended his decision, saying that the United States had realized the reasons for the invasion as early as 2001.
(Reported by Reuters; Contributed by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Edited by William Mallard)
