Biden convenes diplomatic and security team, evacuated to airport from 3rd point of discussion on counter-terrorism and evacuation operations
Taliban checking vehicles entering the airport Armed Taliban fighters search a checkpoint one by one for vehicles heading to Kabul’s international airport on the 22nd. Kabul | AP Yonhap News”/>
The US has advised its citizens in Afghanistan to refrain from traveling to Kabul Airport. The threat of terrorism from Islamic State (IS), an extremist group in Afghanistan, which is in chaos due to the occupation of the Taliban, has spread, and the US plan to escape its citizens has been disrupted.
The US embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement on the 21st that it “advises US citizens not to travel to the airport unless they have received individual guidance from the authorities.” The German embassy also advised its citizens not to go to Kabul Airport, saying that Taliban control is intensifying.
The Associated Press reported that the reason for the airport ban was “because of the possibility that ISIS could threaten Americans in Afghanistan.” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing today that the Taliban are communicating with the Taliban to ensure safe passage for their own citizens and US-sponsored Afghans, but “not all Taliban fighters have decided to do so.”
US President Joe Biden convened a foreign and security team at the White House on the same day to discuss counter-terrorism operations, including IS Khorasan, the Afghan branch of ISIS, and evacuation operations from Afghanistan, the White House said. “ISIS Khorasan still has the ability to carry out devastating attacks,” Al Jazeera said.
The Pentagon has not ruled out the possibility of sending US troops outside Kabul Airport. Until now, the US military has limited its evacuation support mission to Kabul Airport, but the situation is changing due to the threat of IS. A senior U.S. official told the Associated Press that “a new way to evacuate refugees to Kabul airport must be developed,” adding that the U.S. military is considering taking its citizens to Kabul Airport at a third transit point.
As tens of thousands of people rush to escape Afghanistan near the Kabul airport, the death toll has been increasing. Britain’s Sky News reported that at least three bodies were seen as people waiting outside the airport were dehydrated and exhausted.
Americans or Afghans with documentation of cooperation with the US military are also stranded around the airport. The Guardian said the five families of Afghan families were instructed by the U.S. consulate to get U.S. visas and go to a U.S. base at Kabul Airport, but were waiting at the airport entrance for the fourth day. “We’re in hell,” said the Afghani, saying that many of those waiting outside the airport are US permanent residents.
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