Washington:
The United States stated it destroyed an explosive-laden car with an air strike in Kabul Sunday, hours after President Joe Biden warned of one other terror assault within the capital as an enormous airlift of tens of 1000’s of Afghans entered its final days.
A Taliban spokesman confirmed the incident, saying a automobile bomb destined for the airport had been destroyed — and {that a} attainable second strike had hit a close-by home.
The US stated it had solely struck the car, however added that secondary blasts indicated “a substantial amount of explosive material”.
Local media reported there could have been civilian casualties, which the US stated it was assessing.
The strike comes after a suicide bomber from the Islamic State group on Thursday focused US troops stopping enormous crowds of individuals from coming into Kabul’s airport, from the place about 114,000 folks have been evacuated since August 15 when the Taliban swept again into energy.
More than 100 folks died within the assault, together with 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlift forward of Biden’s deadline for evacuations to finish by Tuesday.
The operation is winding down regardless of Western powers saying 1000’s could also be left behind.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated some 300 Americans nonetheless in Afghanistan had been in search of to go away the nation.
“They are not going to be stuck,” he informed ABC, including the US had “a mechanism to get them out”.
The Pentagon stated Saturday that retaliation drone strikes had killed two “high-level” IS jihadists in jap Afghanistan, however Biden warned of extra assaults 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 stated.
“Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.”
The US embassy in Kabul later launched a warning of credible threats at particular areas of the airport, together with entry gates.
In current years, the Islamic State’s Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter has been liable for a few of the deadliest assaults in these nations.
They have massacred civilians at mosques, public squares, faculties, and even hospitals.
While each IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamists, they’re bitter foes — with every claiming to be the true flag-bearers of jihad.
– Unthinkable co-operation –
The IS assault has compelled the US navy and the Taliban right into a type of cooperation to make sure safety on the airport that was unthinkable two weeks in the past.
On Saturday, Taliban fighters escorted a gradual stream of Afghans from buses to the principle passenger terminal, handing them over to US forces for evacuation.
The troops had been seen all through the civilian aspect of the airport grounds and annexe buildings, whereas US Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof.
After a 20-year warfare, the foes had been inside open sight of one another, separated by simply 30 metres.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stated US troops had began withdrawing — with out saying what number of had been left.
Biden was on Sunday headed to an air drive base in Delaware, the place the stays of the servicemen killed in Kabul have been transferred, to attend a ceremony and meet with the victims’ households.
– ‘Heartbreaking’ –
Western allies that helped with the airlift have largely already ended their flights, with some voicing despair at not with the ability to fly out everybody in danger.
The head of Britain’s armed forces, General Sir Nick Carter, informed the BBC it was “heartbreaking” that “we haven’t been able to bring everybody out”.
A White House official stated 2,900 folks had been evacuated in a 24-hour interval between Saturday and Sunday, a drastic discount from earlier within the week.
Two Afghan athletes had been in a position to go away final weekend and spent every week in France earlier than a “major global operation” took them to Japan for the Tokyo Paralympics.
There was an emotional welcome for Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli on the athletes’ village on Saturday evening.
“There were lots of tears from everyone in the room,” stated International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence.
French President Emmanuel Macron stated talks had begun with the Taliban to “protect and repatriate” at-risk Afghan nationals past Tuesday.
France and Britain will on Monday urge the United Nations to work for the creation of a “safe zone” in Kabul to guard humanitarian operations, he stated.
The UN stated it was bracing for a “worst-case scenario” of as much as half one million extra refugees from Afghanistan by the top of 2021.
At the airport, gone are the crowds of 1000’s mobbing the perimeter, hoping to be let via and allowed onto a aircraft.
The Taliban have now sealed off roads resulting in the ability and are solely letting sanctioned buses move.
