Biden told another terror attack likely
US on high alert for more terror attacks while evacuations continue; death toll from Thursday’s Kabul airport carnage continues to go up
WASHINGTON/KABUL: A day after a deadly terror strike in Kabul, US President Joe Biden was told by his top security advisers on Friday that another terror attack was likely in the Afghan capital and the next few days of the mission to evacuate Afghan partners, and American and allied personnel from Afghanistan “will be the most dangerous period”.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that Biden was advised of the threat at a situation room briefing with his national security team and military commanders, who assured him that maximum protection measures were being taken at the airport in Kabul.
The commanders also briefed the US president on the operational plans to develop Islamic State-khorasan targets. Biden reaffirmed to the commanders “his approval of all authorities they need to conduct the operations and protect our troops”.
US forces helping to evacuate people desperate to flee Taliban rule were already on alert for more attacks throughout Friday after an IS-K strike killed around 100 people outside Kabul airport.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the US believed there are “specific, credible” threats against the airport. “We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts,” Kirby told reporters in Washington.
US and allied forces are racing to complete evacuations of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans and to withdraw from Afghanistan by an August 31 deadline set by President Joe Biden.
On Friday, some sections of the US media cited local health officials as saying 170 people died in the attack. The attack also marked the first US military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020 and represented the deadliest incident for US troops there in a decade.
Medical staff in the operating theatres of Kabul’s Emergency Hospital worked through the night treating casualties. “Everybody is concerned at this moment in Kabul, nobody knows what to expect in the coming hours,” said Rossella Miccio, president of the Italian aid group that runs the hospital.
Frank Mckenzie, head of US Central Command, said the US will press on with evacuations.
Afghans can travel freely in future, say Taliban
Afghans with valid documents will be able to travel freely in the future at any time, a Taliban official said in a televised address aimed at calming fears. “The Afghan borders will be open and people will be able to travel at any time into and out of Afghanistan,” said Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy head of the movement’s political commission.
Anger over list shared by US officials: Report
According to a controversial report done by Politico, US officials in Afghanistan naively gave the Taliban a list of Afghans who had aided US forces in the country, sparking fears that the new regime could use that information to persecute them. The report says US officials gave the Taliban names of US citizens, green card holders and Afghan allies so they could be allowed to enter the airport in Kabul.
A similar development involving British officials has been reported. The UK’S defence chief promised to “get to the bottom of” a security lapse that saw documents identifying Afghan staff left behind at the abandoned British embassy in Kabul.