- US calls on Americans to leave Kabul airport immediately
- President Joe Biden says another terrorist attack likely after deadly suicide bombing
- Rocket attack hits home near airport
- UK wraps up evacuation mission
- German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas starts four-day, five-country Afghanistan mission
This article was last updated at 16:02 UTC/GMT time. For coverage of yesterday’s events in Afghanistan see here.
Militant fire across border kills two Pakistan soldiers
Militant fire from across the border in Afghanistan killed two Pakistani soldiers on Sunday, the army confirmed.
The army said it responded by killing two or three attackers.
The incident in Pakistan’s Bajaur district is the first of its kind since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan.
US military hits ‘Islamic State’ suicide bombers
US officials confirmed a drone strike against a vehicle threatening the Kabul airport.
“US military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat” to Hamid Karzai International airport, said Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command (CENTCOM).
“Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material,” he said, adding there were “no indications at this time” of civilian casualties.
Other reports indicated the vehicle carried multiple suicide bombers.
British ex-marine leaves Kabul with pets but no local staff
Paul “Pen” Farthing, an ex-British marine who founded the Nowzad animal rescue charity in Afghanistan 15 years ago, has left Kabul with his animals but none of his local support staff.
A privately funded charter brought Farthing to London while his support staff and their dependents remain behind in Kabul. Farthing and the support staff along with their families were eligible for evacuation as part of the UK’s airlift but were not rescued from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
“We’ve just used a lot of troops to bring in 200 dogs. Meanwhile my interpreter’s family is likely to be killed,” Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat who served with the British Army in Afghanistan told LBC radio.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Farthing’s demands and his social media supporters had “taken up too much time” of senior commanders and military staff.
Approximately 300 US citizens remain in Kabul
US national security advisor Jake Sullivan told CNN there are 300 or fewer US citizens remaining in Kabul at present who wish to leave.
“After August 31, we believe we have substantial leverage to allow safe passage for US citizens, permanent residents and Afghan allies,” Sullivan said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave ABC News the same figure regarding the remaining US nationals.
Blast heard near airport — witnesses
Early reports indicate a new blast in the Afghan capital on Sunday, just days after a suicide attack at Kabul airport’s Abbey Gate which was claimed by the “Islamic State.”
Witnesses cited by the Reuters news agency say the blast appears to have been a rocket attack. AP, citing an Afghan police chief, reports the rocket hit northwest of the airport and killed a child.
The Pentagon and Biden’s national security team both warned of an imminent attack prior to the incident.
Biden to receive bodies, meet families of killed service members
US President Joe Biden is traveling to Dover Air Force Base in his home state of Delaware to receive the bodies of the service members killed in Thursday’s suicide attacks at the Kabul airport.
Biden and First Lady Jill are scheduled to meet the families of the service members then witness the transfer of the troops’ remains.
Thursday’s bombing outside the gates of Kabul airport claimed the lives of 13 US service personnel including 11 marines, one sailor and one army staff sergeant. Two women are among the marines killed.
The Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) claimed responsibility for the attack in a video message. The US military launched a retaliatory drone strike against the group.
Taliban to allow for safe passage of US residents, allies
A top Taliban officials has said privately that the group will allow for the safe passage of Americans, US residents and Afghan allies after Aug. 31, according to Reuters.
The White House has also acknowledged those comments. “The Taliban have both communicated privately and publicly that they will allow for safe passage,” said Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, in a CBS TV interview set to be broadcast on Sunday.
“After August 31st, we will make sure there is safe passage for any American citizen, any legal permanent resident,” he added. “And yes, we will ensure the safe passage of those Afghans who helped us to continue coming out after the 31st of August.”
Heiko Maas offers aid to neighboring countries
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas issued a statement ahead of his trip to Turkey, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Qatar, touting Germany’s commitment to tackling the situation in Afghanistan.
“I am traveling to the region today to make it clear: Germany’s commitment does not end with the conclusion of the military evacuation mission,” he said.
He also warned of a resurgence in international terrorism. “The attacks at Kabul airport show us how great the danger is that international terrorism will regain strength. A power-political vacuum has been created, into which ISIS-K and other terrorists are now striving with frightening speed.”
Maas additionally offered aid to countries surrounding Afghanistan, “to help them cope with the humanitarian and economic consequences.”
“It’s in our own interest to prevent the collapse in Afghanistan from destabilizing the entire region,” he added.
Seven Afghans detained in Germany
Seven Afghans were detained after being evacuated to Germany, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
One is in custody, two are still in the care of the police at the airport. “Three had forged documents with them and four had already been deported from Germany to Afghanistan as criminals. These were serious crimes,” Seehofer said.
Educators call on Taliban to maintain system
Former university officials and lecturers have called on the Taliban to maintain and upgrade the country’s education system instead of creating a new one.
At a conference on higher education, held by the Taliban, former minister of higher education Abas Basir said that starting over would be a mistake made by previous governments.
“Let’s not reject everything, starting a new system, we should work more on what we already have,” said Basir.
Taliban caretaker higher education minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani criticized the current education system founded by the international community, saying that there was not enough emphasis placed on religious education.
“The world tried to take religion out of scientific education, which harmed the people,” Haqqani said. He added that “every item against Islam in the educational system will be removed.”
Report: Only 100 Afghan workers evacuated to Germany
A report in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper says out of the 4,500 people who were evacuated to Germany by the middle of last week, just 101 of them were local Afghan employees.
Together with their families, they made up little more than a tenth of the total, the newspaper said, citing Interior Ministry figures.
The Foreign Ministry, however, says around 5,300 people have been brought to safety from Kabul, including 530 Germans.
The German government has come under massive criticism for not flying out Afghan military aides before the Taliban took power.
On Thursday, the Bundeswehr completed its evacuation flights from Kabul.
Seehofer tries to ally concerns about new migrant influx
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has vowed to tighten border controls in the event of new large-scale refugee movements from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq.
“Not everyone who wants to enter our country will be allowed to enter,” Seehofer said in an interview with Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
“We will do everything we can to prevent the uncontrolled influx of migrants to Europe.”
Seehofer added that refugee movements from Afghanistan and other countries in the region, such as Syria and Iraq, are being monitored very closely.
France, UK to call for Kabul ‘safe zone’
France and Britain will on Monday call on the United Nations to work for the creation of a “safe zone” in the Afghan capital Kabul to protect humanitarian operations, French President Emmanuel Macron said in comments published in the Journal du Dimanche.
“This is very important. This would provide a framework for the United Nations to act in an emergency.”
Such a safe zone would allow the international community “to maintain pressure on the Taliban,” who are now in power in Afghanistan, he added.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, France, Britain, the US, Russia and China, are set to discuss the situation in Afghanistan on Monday.
France and Britain will present a draft resolution which “aims to define, under UN control, a ‘safe zone’ in Kabul, that will allow humanitarian operations to continue,” Macron said.
Journalist Franz Marty told DW, however, the draft is “only a vague plan or proposal, and that the Taliban would likely be opposed to such a plan.
“At some point, there even seemed to be discussions that the UN dramatically reduces its presence here in Afghanistan,” said Marty. “So going from this to establishing a safe zone would be like a huge jump. The Taliban themselves would probably be opposed.”
UK PM praises evacuation efforts
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued a statement praising evacuation efforts and the country’s initiative to take in several Afghan refugees.
“All remaining soldiers, diplomats and civil servants have now left,” he said. “This country has now processed, vetted and airlifted more than 15,000 people to safety in less than two weeks.”
Paralympic athletes arrive in Tokyo
Afghanistan’s two Paralympic athletes made an “extremely emotional” arrival at the Tokyo Paralympic Village, Games chiefs said on Sunday. That comes after a top-secret flight from Paris following their evacuation from Kabul.
Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrived in Japan to compete at the Games, after leaving Afghanistan last weekend.
“Both athletes are here in Tokyo to fulfill their dreams, sending out a very strong message of hope to many others around the world,” said International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence.
Khudadadi and Rasouli were welcomed to the athletes’ village on Saturday night by IPC chief Andrew Parsons and IPC Athletes’ Council chairperson Chelsey Gotell, as well as the Afghan team’s chef de mission Arian Sadiqi.
“As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional,” said Spence. “There were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It really was a remarkable meeting.”
Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli arrive at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Saturday
German foreign minister starts Afghanistan mission
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas is starting a four-day trip to five countries, all of which have a role in continued efforts to evacuate people from Afghanistan. He will begin in Turkey on Sunday, then make his way to Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Qatar.
Qatar’s capital, Doha, is home to a political office of the Taliban, which functions as a foreign ministry for the group. The trip comes three days after the end of the Bundeswehr evacuation operation, in which the air force flew 5,347 people out of Kabul.
“The military evacuation is now over. But our work continues, and will continue until everyone for whom we have responsibility in Afghanistan is safe,” Maas said on Thursday.
Taliban aims for ‘swift’ handover of Kabul airport
The Taliban and the departing US forces are aiming for a swift handover of Kabul airport, a Taliban official told Reuters.
“We are waiting for the final nod from the Americans to secure full control over Kabul airport,” he said. The official added that the militants had a team of technical experts and engineers ready to complete the takeover.
Meanwhile, a Western security official told Reuters that just over 1,000 civilians remain at the airport to be flown out before troops fully withdraw. However, a date and time for the end of the operation have yet to be decided, they said.
US President Joe Biden has said he will stick by his Tuesday deadline to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan.
US urges citizens to leave Kabul airport
The US Embassy in Kabul has urged all US citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport to leave the area immediately due to a “specific, credible threat.”
Americans are asked to avoid traveling to the airport.
The Australian government also issued a similar warning to avoid travel to the airport.
UK, France to request UN safe zone in Kabul
The UK and France will call for a safe zone in Kabul during an emergency UN meeting on Monday.
“Our resolution proposal aims to define a safe zone in Kabul, under UN control, which would allow humanitarian operations to continue,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the Le Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper.
UK says its final military flight left Kabul
Britain’s Defense Ministry said the last flight carrying UK army personnel has left Kabul, ending the evacuation mission.
Defense Minister Ben Wallace said 15,000 people have been evacuated in the last two weeks.
“We should be proud of our armed forces, welcoming to those coming for a better life, and… sad for those left behind,” Wallace said on Twitter.
“Our obligation to them does not end with our leaving,” he added.
With the UK’s 20-year mission coming to an end, Wallace said that there would be “many lessons to learn,” but there were also “endless examples of amazing achievements.”
jsi, wd, ar/mm (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/us-carries-out-military-strike-in-kabul-live-updates/a-59016849?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf