A loud blast was heard in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday by AFP journalists, hours after US officials warned of the possibility of a terror attack. A security official from the recently deposed government told AFP it was a rocket that “initial information shows hit a house”. bur/ecl/jds/fox/axn © Agence France-Presse
Tag: Afghanistan
Turkey’s Erdogan cool to Taliban securing Kabul airport
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan poured cold water Sunday over a plan in which Turkey operates Kabul airport and the Taliban provides security, adding Ankara would be in a tough position if another attack occurs. Turkey had long planned to help secure and run the Afghan capital’s airport, but appeared to drop the idea when it started Wednesday to withdraw its approximately 500 non-combat troops from Afghanistan. Erdogan on Friday said Turkey had held its first […]
US warns of ‘specific, credible threat’ near Kabul airport
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States warned Saturday of a “specific, credible threat” near Kabul airport and urged its citizens to leave the area, days after a deadly attack on crowds fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan. “Due to a specific, credible threat, all US citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport… should leave the airport area immediately,” the US Embassy in Kabul said in a security alert. © Agence France-Presse
Anger after UK embassy ‘left Afghan staff details’ in Kabul
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — UK politicians on Friday slammed British diplomats for reportedly leaving Afghan staff’s contact details on the ground as they evacuated the Kabul embassy compound, now guarded by the Taliban. The discovery comes as the UK has acknowledged its hurried evacuation effort left hundreds of eligible Afghans behind. The Times in a front-page story by veteran war correspondent Anthony Loyd reported that he found unshredded documents revealing contact details of […]
UK evacuating last civilians from Kabul on Saturday
LONDON, United States (AFP) — Britain said it will run its last evacuation flights from Kabul on Saturday before pulling out its troops, leaving several hundred Afghans otherwise eligible to fly to the UK behind. The UK is winding up its operation to airlift civilians ahead of the August 31 deadline for US troop withdrawal as Taliban forces prepare to take over the airport. “We’re reaching the end of the evacuation, which will take place […]
US strikes IS target in Afghanistan, pushes airlift into final stage
by David FOX Agence France Presse KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — The US conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State target in Afghanistan on Saturday, as the airlift of those desperate to flee moved into its fraught final stages with fresh terror attack warnings and encroaching Taliban forces primed to take over Kabul airport. US forces overseeing the evacuation have been forced into closer security cooperation with the Taliban to prevent any repeat of […]
US tells citizens to leave Kabul airport gates ‘immediately’
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States urged its citizens Friday to “immediately” leave the gates around Kabul’s airport, where a suicide bomber this week targeted crowds trying to flee Taliban rule. Earlier Friday, 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 […]
JUST IN: US drone strike targets IS ‘planner’ in Afghanistan: Pentagon
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US military said Friday it had carried out a drone strike against a “planner” of the Islamic State-Khorasan, the group which claimed credit for the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport. “The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications are that we killed the target,” said Captain Bill Urban of the Central Command. “We know of no civilian casualties,” he added in a statement. © […]
More Filipinos leave Afghanistan; 24 remain
(Eagle News) — More Filipinos have left Afghanistan, with only 24 remaining in the country, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. In an advisory, the DFA said three more Filipinos evacuated from Kabul who transited through Doha. Of the 24 remaining in Afghanistan, the DFA 16 have requested repatriation through their companies or the Philippine government. “The Philippine government continues to work with governments and international partners to ensure the evacuation of the remaining Filipinos […]
Biden presidency shaken to core by Kabul bombings
by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Eyes closing, voice cracking, Joe Biden physically reflected the terrible blow to his presidency from the slaying of 13 US service members during the desperate Kabul evacuation. Addressing the nation from the White House, Biden bowed his head for a moment of silence before taking questions from journalists pressing him on the bloody twist in the already tragic operation to shut down the […]
Trump, Republican lawmakers lash out at Biden after Kabul attack
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former president Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers lashed out at Democratic President Joe Biden on Thursday after 12 US troops were killed and 15 wounded in suicide bombings in Kabul. Trump, who has been sharply critical of Biden’s handling of the Afghan crisis, called Thursday’s suicide attacks in Kabul a “tragedy” and said they should have been prevented. “This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen, which makes […]
France seeks to evacuate ‘several hundred’ more from Kabul: Macron
DUBLIN, Ireland (AFP) — France is still seeking to evacuate hundreds more people from Afghanistan ahead of a looming deadline, President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, warning of an “extremely risky” situation in the wake of blasts around Kabul airport. “We will do everything we can” to bring to France Afghan citizens and dual nationals who had been in its embassy and are currently outside the perimeter of the airport in 20 buses, Macron said […]
