Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis Highlights: The United States has launched a drone strike against an Islamic State attack planner in eastern Afghanistan, said the military, a day after a suicide bombing at Kabul airport killed at least 92 people, including 13 US troops. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for the coordinated suicide bomb and gun assault, which came just days after President Joe Biden warned that the group an affiliate of the Islamic State group operating in Afghanistan was seeking to target the airport and attack US and allied forces and innocent civilians. The IS affiliate in Afghanistan is far more radical than the Taliban, who recently took control of the country in a lightning blitz. The Taliban were not believed to have been involved in the attacks and condemned the blasts. Meanwhile, Taliban forces have taken up position in Kabul airport and are ready to take full control as early as this weekend, two senior Taliban figures have said. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and President Ghani fled the country, bringing an unprecedented end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the war-ravaged nation. In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of residents of Kabul. After its swift takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban issued the first 'fatwa' in which their officials in the restive Herat province banned co-education in government and private universities. Days after vowing to respect women's rights in Afghanistan, the Taliban described co-education as the 'root of all evils in society'. Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar had earlier arrived in Kabul for talks with other leaders to hammer out a new Afghan government, according to a Taliban official.
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Superstar Vio repeats Rio gold as Afghan athletes arrive in Tokyo
Fencing icon Beatrice "Bebe" Vio successfully defended her women's Paralympic gold on Saturday as Afghanistan's two athletes arrived in Tokyo to compete in the Games.
Vio, one of the world's best-known Paralympians, was in unstoppable form as she defeated China's Zhou Jingjing 15-9 in the Women's Individual Foil Category B gold medal match, just as she had done in Rio five years ago.
The 24-year-old Italian, who had both forearms and legs amputated when she contracted meningitis as an 11-year-old, screamed in joy before bursting into tears in the arms of her coach after the winning point was scored.
On day four of the competition, a total of 54 gold medals were up for grabs across nine different sports, including 17 athletics finals at the Olympic Stadium.
The number of teams taking part rose to 163 as the International Paralympic Committee said Afghanistan's Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli had arrived safely in the athletes' village.
Khudadadi and Rasouli were evacuated last weekend to France as the Taliban took control of their country, it said.
They will compete next week in taekwondo and athletics, and are "sending out a strong message of hope", IPC chief Andrew Parsons said.
AFP
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Future of Kabul airport subject of intense negotiations
Who will ultimately run the airport in Kabul after US forces leave? That question -- a vital one for Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers but also for Western nations still hoping to evacuate everyone eligible -- is the subject of intense and complex talks.
Next week, on September 1, Hamid Karzai International Airport will be under the control of the hardline Islamists, who already on Friday claimed to have moved into certain areas of the military side of the facility.
"We are departing by August 31. Upon that date, we are delivering -- we're essentially giving the airport back to the Afghan people," State Department spokesman Ned Price said Friday, cutting off speculation about the possibility of it falling into international hands.
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France is in talks with the Taliban on humanitarian operations, saidEmmanuel Macron.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that discussions were underway with the Taliban through Qatar to "protect and repatriate" Afghans at risk since this month's takeover by the group.
Evacuations are planned jointly with Qatar and may involve "airlift operations", Macron said after a summit in Baghdad, adding that France had evacuated 2,834 people from Afghanistan since August 17.
AFP
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said his country would continue to deploy troops in Iraq to battle terrorism even if the US were to withdraw.
"No matter what choices the Americans make, we will maintain our presence in Iraq to fight against terrorism," Macron told a news conference in Baghdad where he attended a regional summit.
"We have the operational capacity to ensure this presence," he added after the meeting, which has been overshadowed by the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and Thursday's suicide bombing in Kabul claimed by an Islamic State group affiliate.
(AFP)
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Pentagon says drone strike killed two 'high profile' ISIS targets in Afghanistan
A US air strike in Afghanistan killed two high-profile ISIS targets and left another wounded, the Pentagon said Saturday.
No civilians were hurt in the attack early Saturday, which followed the suicide bombing Thursday that killed scores of people including 13 US troops at Kabul airport, Major General Hank Taylor told a news conference.
The Pentagon declined to say if the people targeted in the US strike were directly involved in the suicide bombing.
"They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators. That's enough reason there alone," said spokesman John Kirby.
"The fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that’s a good thing,” Kirby added.
The suicide bombing, which targeted throngs of Afghans gathered outside the airport in hopes of fleeing Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, opened a deadly new chapter in the drama unfolding as the frantic US evacuation drive approaches its Tuesday deadline for completion.
US officials have said more attacks on the evacuation effort are likely.
The US evacuation of vulnerable Afghans has continued, with Taylor saying there were around 1,400 at the airport Saturday who have been "screened and manifested for flights today."
Altogether, around 117,000 people have been flown out of Afghanistan since August 14, the day before the Taliban seized power.
AFP
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | U.S. warns of more attacks after retaliating for Kabul airport blast
The United States attacked an Islamic State "planner" in Afghanistan in retaliation for a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport and said there was a high risk of further blasts as it winds up its mission to evacuate civilians and withdraw troops A U.S. official said on Saturday the target of its overnight drone strike was not believed to be a senior Islamic State militant, and did not rule out future action against the group. U.S. and allied forces have been racing to complete the evacuations and withdraw by the Tuesday deadline set by President Joe Biden after two decades of American military presence in Afghanistan. As of Saturday, there were fewer than 4,000 U.S. troops at Kabul airport, the U.S. official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters, down from 5,800 at the peak of the evacuation mission.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Order descends on Afghan evacuations after airport carnage
Order replaced chaos at Kabul airport Saturday with Taliban fighters escorting a steady stream of Afghans from buses to the main passenger terminal, handing them over to US troops for evacuation. Gone are the tens of thousands clamouring to get inside the airport grounds in the hope of getting aboard a flight before August 31, when the US-led evacuation ends and the last foreign troops depart. The deadly Islamic State suicide blast at a secondary entrance on Thursday likely scared away many looking for a way to escape the return to power of the hardline Islamists, but the Taliban have also sealed off all roads leading to the airport and are now only letting sanctioned buses pass.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Russia wants CSTO security alliance to boost cooperation over Afghanistan
Moscow will work more closely with fellow members of a post-Soviet security alliance as the withdraw of U.S. forces from Afghanistan raises regional security risks, Russia's defence minister was quoted as saying on Saturday. The U.S. exit from Afghanistan has created a security headache for Moscow, which sees former Soviet Central Asia as part of its southern defensive flank and fears the spread of radical Islam.Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow had stepped up contacts within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led alliance that groups six former Soviet states. "We're in close contact with CSTO members over Afghanistan ... That's why our interaction within CSTO should be strengthened," Shoigu was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency. He said the risk of Afghan militants crossing into neighbouring countries had spread following the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country this month as U.S. forces withdrew. Drug trafficking is another concern, he added. The CSTO said on Friday it would hold military exercises in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan from September to October involving several thousand troops due to the situation in Afghanistan. Shoigu said an ongoing programme to rearm the armies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan would continue.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Last British civilian evacuation flight leaves Kabul
The last British flight evacuating civilians from Afghanistan has left Kabul, bringing to an end an operation that has airlifted almost 15,000 Afghan and British citizens in the two weeks since the Taliban took control. Britain's armed forces are now preparing to leave and will take small numbers of Afghan citizens with them on remaining flights this weekend, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Saturday. "It's time to close this phase of the operation down. But we haven't forgotten the people who still need to leave, and we will do everything we can to help them," Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, Laurie Bristow, said in a statement filmed on the tarmac at Kabul's main airport. Some British troops have already departed, and a British military transport plane carrying armed forces members landed at an airbase in southern England on Saturday. British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Friday that Britain was entering the final hours of its evacuation and would process only people who were already inside Kabul airport.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US evacuates over 111,900 people from Afghanistan since Aug 14, says White House
The US has evacuated and facilitated the shifting of approximately 111,900 people from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul since August 14, the White House has said. The US evacuated approximately 6,800 people in the time period between August 27 at 3:00 AM EDT and August 28 at 3:00 AM EDT, following the deadly suicide attack near the Kabul airport on Thursday, it said.This is the result of 32 US military flights (27 C-17s and 5 C-130s) which carried approximately 4,000 evacuees, and 34 coalition flights which carried 2,800 people, according to a White House official. Since August 14, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 111,900 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 117,500 people, the official said
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | UK and Germany seek common G7 approach on Taliban
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Afghanistan on Saturday and agreed on the need for international aid and a common approach by the G7 to the future government of Afghanistan. "The Prime Minister and Chancellor resolved to work, alongside the rest of the G7, to put in place the roadmap on dealing with any new Afghan government discussed at last week's leaders' meeting," Johnson's office said in a statement. "The Prime Minister stressed that any recognition and engagement with the Taliban must be conditional on them allowing safe passage for those who want to leave the country and respecting human rights," the British statement added.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban deploy extra forces around Kabul airport
The Taliban have deployed extra forces around Kabuls airport to prevent large crowds from gathering after a deadly suicide attack two days earlier. The massive U.S.-led airlift is winding down ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline, with many allies having completed their own operations. The Taliban on Saturday set up new layers of checkpoints on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas, where large crowds have massed for the past two weeks, were largely empty. A suicide attack Thursday by an Islamic State affiliate killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, and there are concerns that the group could strike again.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghanistan overshadows Iraq summit as Emmanuel Macron warns against IS
The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan overshadowed a summit in Iraq Saturday attended by key regional leaders, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning of the threat Islamic State group jihadists pose.The meeting comes as Iraq, long a casualty of jihadist militancy, also tries to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran."We all know that we must not lower our guard, because Daesh (IS) remains a threat, and I know that the fight against these terrorist groups is a priority of your government," Macron said, after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.Iraq and France "are key partners in the war against terrorism," Kadhemi replied. (AFP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban largely seal off Kabul airport as airlift winds down
The Taliban deployed extra forces around Kabul’s airport Saturday to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive U.S.-led airlift wound down ahead of an August31 deadline.New layers of checkpoints sprang up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where large crowds of people have gathered over the past two weeks in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover were largely empty.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | China, US hold first military-level talks under Biden's presidency, discuss Afghan crisis
China and the US discussed the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan during their first round of military-level talks after President Joe Biden came to power in January this year, a media report said on Saturday.Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week. Afghanistan crisis is one of the most urgent issues of risk management that needs to be discussed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi raised this issue in the Alaska talks [earlier this year], but his American counterpart ignored it, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted an official of the Chinese military as saying.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | World has ‘abandoned’ Afghanistan’s new generation, Evacuee
Until last week, Shabeer Ahmadi was busy covering the news in Afghanistan. But after a hasty and excruciating decision to leave his Taliban-controlled country for an uncertain future in Spain, he’s helplessly glued to news feeds on his cellphone, following every twist in the dramatic end of the evacuation of Afghans from Kabul.The 29-year-old journalist and nine close relatives managed to board one of the evacuation planes and are now going through the lengthy asylum process while starting a new life in a northern Spanish city. But the future of thousands of Afghans who have not been able to escape, including members of his own family, is now the focus of his fears, Ahmadi said.“There is a feeling of desperation in Afghanistan,” he said. “Imagine if you had made a building for 20 years now, that building is getting destroyed and you cannot go out from that building. It feels very bad. Our education, our hopes for ourselves, for our children, for our future, for our country is all destroyed.”
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghanistan’s economic crisis deepens as airlift winds down
Hundreds of Afghans protested outside a bank in Kabul on Saturday and others formed long lines at cash machines as a U.N. agency warned that a worsening drought could leave millions in need of humanitarian aid.At the Kabul airport, thousands are still gathering in hope of fleeing the country, even after a suicide attack on Thursday killed 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members and amid warnings of more attacks. The massive U.S.-led airlift is winding down, with many Western nations having completed their own evacuation efforts ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
The economic crisis, which predates the Taliban takeover earlier this month, could give Western nations leverage as they urge Afghanistan’s new rulers to form a moderate, inclusive government and allow people to leave after the planned withdrawal of U.S. forces on Aug. 31.Afghanistan is heavily dependent on international aid, which covered around 75% of the Western-backed government’s budget. The Taliban have said they want good relations with the international community and have promised a more moderate form of Islamic rule than when they last governed the country, but many Afghans are deeply skeptical.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghans protest at Kabul bank, long ATM lines
Hundreds of Afghans have protested outside a bank in Kabul as others form long lines at cash machines.The protesters Saturday at New Kabul Bank included many civil servants demanding their salaries, which they said had not been paid for the past three to six months.They said even though banks reopened three days ago no one has been able to withdraw cash. ATM machines are still operating, but withdrawals are limited to around $200 every 24 hours, contributing to the formation of long lines. (AP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | UN issues urgent appeal to help drought-hit Afghan farmers
The United Nations issued an urgent appeal Saturday for aid for some seven million Afghan farmers in the war-ravaged nation facing the threat of severe drought.Covid-19 has further squeezed agricultural workers in the country, which is now controlled by the Taliban after they toppled the US-backed government this month.The UN's Food and Agricultural Organization said the farmers worst affected by a drought in the country are among some14 million people -- or one in three Afghans -- who are "acutely food insecure and need urgent humanitarian assistance"."Urgent agricultural support now is key to counter the impact of the drought and a worsening situation in Afghanistan's vast rural areas in the weeks and months ahead," FAO director Qu Dongyu said in a statement.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
French President Emmanuel Macron warned of the threat the Islamic State group poses ahead of an Iraqi summit Saturday overshadowed by the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and a deadly bombing in Kabul
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US says it wants 'deeds, not words' from Taliban to recognise it diplomatically
The US has said it expects "deeds, not words" and "follow through" on pledges by the Taliban to recognise the group diplomatically.Addressing a press conference on Friday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the Taliban has made clear that they would "they would like to see an American diplomatic presence remain" in Afghanistan. They "have been quite clear and quite open in the fact that they would like other countries to retain their diplomatic missions, he said, adding that a Taliban spokesperson had said the other day that we appreciate the embassies that remain open and didn't close. We assure them of their safety and protection.Price said the US is yet to take a call on the issue, but "it is something we are actively discussing, both with our partners and thinking about here as well. We are not prepared to answer them today, precisely because we have heard a range of statements from the Taliban. Some of them have been positive, some of them have been constructive, but ultimately what we will be looking for, what our international partners will be looking for are deeds, not words, he said.What we are going to be focused on in questions of any future diplomatic presence, any questions of recognition, any questions of assistance is follow-through -- again, deeds, not words, Price asserted. He said though the Taliban have pledged publicly to provide safety and protection to the embassies, the US and its allies will look for an indication that "there is a substance, that there is merit to those statements, an indication that there will be follow-through before we make any such decisions"
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Britain says its final civilian flights will soon leave Afghanistan
British troops will end their evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan today and many hundreds of Afghans entitled to resettlement in Britain are likely to be left behind, armed forces chief General Nick Carter said. British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Friday that the country was entering the final hours of its evacuation and would process only people who were already inside Kabul airport.
"We have some civilian flights to take out, but it is very few now," Carter told the BBC. "We're reaching the end of the evacuation, which will take place during the course of today. And then it will be necessary to bring our troops out on the remaining aircraft," he said.
Britain's defence ministry said late yesterday that it had evacuated more than 14,500 Afghan and British nationals in the two weeks since the Taliban took control of the country. (Reuters)
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West Bengal Police has arrested a Bangladeshi national, who is a suspected Taliban sympathiser.
Read more | West Bengal Police nabs suspected Taliban sympathiser
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
Canadian forces in Kabul ended evacuation efforts for their citizens and Afghans on August 26, according to acting chief of the defence staff General Wayne Eyre. He said Canada had evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of about 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens. (Reuters)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Britain to end evacuation from Afghanistan today
British troops will end their evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan today, armed forces chief General Nick Carter said. "We're reaching the end of the evacuation, which will take place during the course of today. And then it will be necessary to bring our troops out on the remaining aircraft," he told the BBC.
"We haven't been able to bring everyone out, and that has been heart-breaking. And there have been some very challenging judgements that have had to be made on the ground." (Reuters)
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The United States and allies are hurrying to evacuate as many people from Afghanistan as possible before an August 31 deadline amid deteriorating security. The United States and partners have evacuated about 111,000 people since August 14, the day before the Taliban entered Kabul, the White House said yesterday.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Last Italian flight with Afghan refugees arrives
Italys final evacuation flight of refugees from Afghanistan has landed at Romes Leonardo da Vinci airport. The Italian Air Force C-130J with 58 Afghan citizens aboard arrived today morning, some 17 hours after it departed from the Kabul airport and after a planned stopover. Also aboard were Italy's consul and a NATO diplomat who had coordinated evacuations at the Kabul airport. (AP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US ‘kills ISIS-K ‘planner’ in reprisal strike after deadly Kabul attack: Report
The US military has said it believes it has killed an ISIS-K ‘planner’ in its first reprisal strike in Afghanistan after the deadly Kabul attack,reported The Guardian.US President Joe Biden vowed on August 26 that the United States would hunt down those responsible for the attack, and said he had ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans to strike at the perpetrators.US Central Command said the strike took place in Nangahar province, east of Kabul. It did not say whether the target was connected with the airport attack.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Russia, Italy discuss Taliban-run Afghanistan
Russia's foreign minister says the first priority after the evacuations from Afghanistan is to ensure security, especially with nations bordering the war-torn country. Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Rome after meeting with Italy's premier and foreign minister yesterday that Russia wants to better understand what role our Western partners see for Russia on Afghanistan.
Lavrov referred to Premier Mario Draghi's determination to use Italy's current presidency of the Group of 20 industrial and emerging-market nations to work closely with Russia and China on Afghanistan. Lavrov said he pressed Italy to also involve Iran and Pakistan in any such multi-national effort. Those two countries, which are not G-20 members, border Afghanistan. (AP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Barry O'Farrell, Australia's High Commissioner to India:
Everybody is heartbroken over what's going on in Afghanistan. Australia had to suspend its evacuation twodays ago due to the (airport) explosion. We've evacuated 4,000 people. Clearly, there are more to go. (ANI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Barry O'Farrell, Australia's High Commissioner to India:
The world is working towards a solution regarding Afghanistan. India, happily, is chairing the United States Security Council, which gives countries like Australia great confidence that hopefully, a solution can be found. (ANI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
Hibatullah Akhundzada -- the so-called commander of the faithful -- has shepherded the Taliban as its chief since 2016 when snatched from relative obscurity to oversee a movement in crisis
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Marine from Omaha among those killed in Afghanistan
The family of a 23-year-old Marine from Omaha said that he was among 13 US service members killed in the suicide bombing attack at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. Corporal Daegan William-Tyeler Page served in the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment based at Camp Pendleton, California. The family said Page was raised in Red Oak, Iowa, and the Omaha metro area and joined the Marines after graduating from Millard South High School. (AP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Timeline: Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan
Here are the main developments since the Taliban seized Kabul, taking power again in Afghanistan after two decades of war.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US launches drone strike on Islamic State after Afghan airport blast
Western forces running the Afghan airlift braced on Saturday for more attacks after the United States launched a drone strike, apparently killing an Islamic State "planner", two days after the group claimed a deadly bombing outside Kabul airport. Among the 92 killed in Thursday's suicide blast, claimed by Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate, were 13 U.S. service members, the most lethal incident for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in a decade.
"Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," the U.S. military said in a statement, referring to the overnight drone strike.
US Central Command said the strike took place in Nangarhar province, east of Kabul and bordering Pakistan. It did not say whether the target was connected with the airport attack. (Reuters)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | GOP rift widens amid growing hostility to Afghan refugees
As the U.S. rushes to evacuate Americans and allies from the chaos of Afghanistan, a growing number of Republicans are questioning why the U.S. should take in Afghan citizens who worked side by side with Americans, further exacerbating divides within the party heading into next years midterm elections.
Little more than a week ago, as the Taliban's stunning takeover of Afghanistan still was snapping into focus, former President Donald Trump issued a statement saying civilians and others who have been good to our Country ... should be allowed to seek refuge. But in more recent days, he has turned to warning of the alleged dangers posed by those desperately trying to flee their country before an end-of-month deadline.
How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? he asked.
As Republicans level blistering criticism at Biden during his first major foreign policy crisis, some are turning to the nativist, anti-immigrant rhetoric perfected by Trump during his four years in office. It's causing dismay among others in the party who think the U.S. should look out for those who helped the Americans over the last two decades. (AP)
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Afghanistan had come a long way since 9/11. Some of those gains in education, gender rights and health will be wiped out. Here is an explanation on what could have been done better, and what now
Read here:Amid blood-red sunset of US withdrawal, fears rise that Afghan State will implode
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US tells citizens to leave Kabul airport gates 'immediately'
The United States urged its citizens yesterday to "immediately" leave the gates around Kabul's airport, where a suicide bomber this week targeted crowds trying to flee Taliban rule. Earlier on the day, the Pentagon said that the high-risk Kabul airlift operation to evacuate Americans and Afghan allies still faced "specific, credible threats".
"US citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the New Ministry of Interior gate now should leave immediately," the US Embassy in Kabul said in a security alert. (AFP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
Afghan photographer warns of Taliban threat to media
The Taliban will shut down Afghanistan's media and are fooling the West by promising to let journalists operate freely, an award-winning Afghan photographer said after fleeing Kabul over threats by the group.Massoud Hossaini, who scooped a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 while working for Agence France-Presse and is now freelance, said Afghanistan's new rulers were already restricting female journalists in particular.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan: US Senator
Any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan, a senior Republican Senator has said. "We all must remember (that) Pakistan is a nuclear-armed nation, and there is a Pakistan version of the Taliban who wishes to topple the Pakistani government and military," Senator Lindsay Graham tweeted, in an apparent reference to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Therefore, "any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan," he said, adding that these are "very dangerous times". (PTI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Biden told another Kabul terror attack 'likely', next few days will be' most dangerous'
The national security team of President Joe Biden has told him that another terror attack is "likely" in Kabul and that the next few days of this mission will be the "most dangerous" period to date, according to a White House official. This was shared with the President when he met in the Situation Room with his national security team, including top commanders and diplomats in the field. Vice President Kamala Harris also joined by secure video teleconference. They advised the President and Vice President that another terror attack in Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul Airport, a White House official said. The official said the next few days of an evacuation operation, that has taken more than 100,000 people out of the country in the past two weeks, "will be the most dangerous period to date". (PTI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US says it wants 'deeds, not words' from Taliban to recognise it diplomatically
The US has said it expects "deeds, not words" and "follow through" on pledges by the Taliban to recognise the group diplomatically. Addressing a press conference yesterday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the Taliban has made clear that they would "they would like to see an American diplomatic presence remain" in Afghanistan. They "have been quite clear and quite open in the fact that they would like other countries to retain their diplomatic missions," he said, adding that a Taliban spokesperson had said the other day that we appreciate the embassies that remain open and didn't close. "We assure them of their safety and protection," he said. (PTI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | France ends evacuations at Kabul airport
France ended evacuation operations yesterday and its team at the makeshift French Embassy at Kabul's airport pulled up stakes. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defence Minister Florence Parly announced that evacuations drew to a close with nearly 3,000 transferred out of Afghanistan. The team at France's embassy in Kabul reached Abu Dhabi before returning to France, the statement said, suggesting that Ambassador David Martinon was returning home, too. A French base in Abu Dhabi has been the transit points for French evacuees before heading to Paris. President Emmanuel Macron had said on August 26 that the ambassador and other diplomatic staff would leave Kabul in the next few days aboard one of the last French flights out. He said the ambassador would maintain his posting but for security reasons he will be operating from Paris for the time being. (AP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | US strikes Islamic State in Afghanistan after deadly Kabul attack
The United States launched a drone strike against an Islamic State attack planner in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, the military said, a day after a suicide bombing at Kabul airport killed 13 US troops and scores of Afghan civilians. US President Joe Biden vowed on August 26 that the United States would hunt down those responsible for the attack, and said he had ordered the Pentagon to come up with plans to strike at the perpetrators.
US Central Command said the strike took place in Nangahar province, east of Kabul. It did not say whether the target was connected with the airport attack.
"Initial indications are that we killed the target. We know of no civilian casualties," a US military statement said. (Reuters)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban want good ties with all countries, including India: spokesman
The Taliban wants good ties with all countries, including India, a top official of the militant group has said as he vowed not to allow Afghan soil to be used against any other country. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid also said that the group, which now rules Afghanistan, considers India as an important part of the region. "We desire good ties with all countries, including India, which is an important part of the region. Our desire is that India devise its policy as per the interests of Afghan people," Mujahid was quoted as saying by Pakistan's ARY News channel on August 25. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. They stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away. (PTI)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban forces in Kabul airport ready to take over, say Taliban officials
Taliban forces have taken up position in Kabul airport and are ready to take full control as early as this weekend, as soon as US forces leave, two senior Taliban figures have said. One senior commander said Taliban forces had taken over most of the airport, "just not a small part where the Americans still are." A second official said the forces were ready to take full control, adding: "It's just a matter of some more time." (Reuters)
Hello and welcome to Moneycontrol’s LIVE coverage of the Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis.
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.
Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates through the day.
