After the attack in Kabul, the threat of possible terrorist attacks remains high. The US troops continue to control the airport, all around the Taliban are in charge. The evacuations are nearing the end.
Shortly before the end of the evacuation mission, the US military began withdrawing its troops from Kabul Airport. The process has started, said Defense Department spokesman John Kirby on Saturday. At the same time, he resolutely contradicted statements by the militant Islamist Taliban, according to which the USA had handed over “two or three” entrances to the airport on Saturday night. The Taliban have set up security checkpoints around the airport, Kirby said. “But they do not control gates, they are not at the airport and they have no role in security,” emphasized Kirby.
The US military will be responsible for the security and operation of the airport until the planned withdrawal on Tuesday, said Kirby. All the gates of the airport are still under the control of the US soldiers. US President Joe Biden wants the troops to leave Afghanistan by Tuesday. On Friday, more than 5,000 were stationed at Kabul Airport. Kirby said the military would not initially release new troop numbers for security reasons. The US military will be able to fly out Western citizens and former Afghan employees until the end of the mission, he stressed.
All German forces returned from Afghanistan
After the Bundeswehr and other allies completed their evacuation mission, the US military rescue flights also went into the final trains. The US Air Force and allies flown around 6,800 people from Kabul within 24 hours, as the White House announced on Saturday. Since mid-August, the US and its partners have flown out a total of around 112,000 of their citizens and former Afghan employees. The US State Department said that around 5,400 citizens had been flown out and that around 350 Americans were still in the country and wanted to escape.
Most of the evacuees were Afghans. About 20,500 evacuees landed at the US air force base Ramstein in Rhineland-Palatinate by Saturday. In the medium term, the US military wants to accommodate up to 50,000 Afghans in bases in the US.
The Bundeswehr also withdrew its ambulance aircraft from Tashkent in Uzbekistan, which was still stationed there for a possible rescue of the injured from Kabul. The Bundeswehr ended its airlift on Thursday, France and Spain on Friday. The British troops were to follow over the weekend.
Pentagon: Two “high-ranking” ISIS members killed
After Thursday’s attack at Kabul airport, which left dozens dead – including 13 US soldiers – the US embassy again warned of possible attacks. US citizens should leave certain gates immediately or should not even come to the airport due to the dangerous situation. Even before the attack, in which, according to US information, a suicide bomber from the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) blew himself up at a gate, the USA had issued a warning to this effect.
The US military claimed to have killed two high-ranking representatives of the local IS branch in a retaliatory strike in Nangarhar province. Another was injured, said Major General William Taylor on Saturday at the Pentagon. After the unmanned air strike, the military initially stated on Friday evening that they had killed “a planner” of the deadly terrorist attack in Kabul. Now one assumes to have killed a planner and a supporter of the project, it said. According to current knowledge, there are no civilian victims, said Taylor. US President Joe Biden swore revenge after the IS attack.
The US military is expected to bring people to safety until Tuesday, but the number of people flown out will decrease due to the simultaneous withdrawal of soldiers and equipment. Germany hopes that those seeking protection will in future be able to leave the country with civil aircraft. Apparently around 300 Germans and more than 10,000 Afghans are still waiting to leave for Germany. The commander of the German evacuation operation, Jens Arlt, did not dare to predict on Friday evening when the Kabul airport would be able to handle civil aircraft again. The situation around the airport has been chaotic and extremely dangerous since the Taliban came to power.
Taliban call female health workers to work
It remained unclear whether women could continue to pursue their professions under Taliban rule. So far, the Taliban have only made specific statements in the areas of education and health. On Friday evening, Taliban spokesman Sabiullah Mujahid tweeted that nothing stood in the way of women’s work in the public health sector. The Ministry of Health instructs all employees in Kabul and the provinces to return to their workplaces.
According to the German government, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) held talks with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Saturday. During their phone call, Merkel and Johnson called for international efforts to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the country. As emerged from a communication from the government in London, the two also committed to working together to implement the roadmap for dealing with a future government in Kabul discussed at the meeting of the G7 heads of state and government earlier this week.
The German government said that the Chancellor and the two Prime Ministers had agreed that “the departure of nationals, local workers and people in need of protection from Afghanistan will continue to be given top priority, as will the humanitarian care of the population and refugees in the region” . In addition to political instability, a persistent drought and widespread hunger are making the situation in Afghanistan even more difficult.
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