Suicide bomb threats hung over the final phase of the US military’s airlift operation from Kabul yesterday, with US President Joe Biden saying that another attack was highly likely before the evacuations end.
More than 112,000 people have fled Afghanistan via the massive US-led evacuation since the Taliban swept back into power two weeks ago, and the operation is winding down, despite Western powers saying that thousands might be left behind.
What had been a chaotic and desperate evacuation on Thursday turned bloody when a suicide bomber from the local chapter of the Islamic State (IS) group targeted US troops who were stopping huge crowds of people from entering Hamid Karzai International Airport.
Photo: AFP
More than 100 people died in the attack, including 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlift ahead of Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by tomorrow.
The Pentagon on Saturday said that retaliation drone strikes had killed two “high level” IS extremists in eastern Afghanistan, but Biden warned of more attacks from the group.
“The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks on the airport remains high,” Biden said.
“Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24 to 36 hours,” he added.
The IS attack has forced the US military and the Taliban into a form of cooperation to ensure security at the airport, which was unthinkable two weeks ago.
Taliban fighters on Saturday escorted a stream of Afghans from buses to the main passenger terminal, handing them over to US forces for evacuation.
The troops were seen throughout the civilian side of the airport grounds and annex buildings, while US Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof.
After a 20-year war, the foes were within open sight of each other, separated by just 30m.
Also in view of the US troops were the Taliban’s Badri special forces in US Humvees gifted to the now-vanquished Afghan army.
Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi wrote on Twitter that the group’s fighters had moved into parts of the military side of the airport.
The Taliban have taken over control of three gates at Kabul’s airport from US forces and are soon to be in charge of the rest, an official from the group said.
However, the Pentagon said that US forces retained control over the gates and the airlift.
US troops had started withdrawing, US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby said, without saying how many were left.
Western allies that helped with the airlift have mostly ended their flights, with some voicing despair at not being able to fly out everyone at risk.
British Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nick Carter told the BBC it was “heartbreaking” that “we haven’t been able to bring everybody out.”
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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