US Warns of “Specific and Compelling” Threat of Kabul Airport Attack

“Due to the specific and compelling threat, all US citizens in the vicinity of the Kabul airport … must immediately leave it,” the US embassy in Kabul said in a security alert.

The announcement came a few days after a bloody attack on a crowd of people fleeing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the final phase of the evacuation of Kabul by the US military continues.

More than 112,000 people have fled Afghanistan during a massive US-led operation since the Taliban movement returned to power two weeks ago.

The evacuation operation is drawing to a close despite western states saying thousands of people could remain in Afghanistan near the Aug. 31 deadline, before which all US troops must withdraw from the country.

More than 100 people, including 13 US troops, were killed in a bomb detonation by a man killed Thursday and gunmen fired into a large crowd at the airport’s Abbey gate, two senior officials from the airport said on Saturday. Afghan administration. Some media outlets report that there are around 170 deaths.

Evacuation flights from Kabul airport after Thursday’s attack are taking place in safer conditions, with warnings of possible new terrorist attacks, as well as Taliban forces seeking to seize control of the airport.

On Saturday, the Pentagon reported drone strikes against the jihadist group Islamic State of Chorasan (IS-K), which claimed responsibility for the devastating attack on the Kabul airport.

Two “high-ranking” IS jihadists have been killed in eastern Afghanistan, according to the military, but US President Joe Biden warned the group could launch more attacks.

“The situation on the ground remains very dangerous and the threat of terrorist attacks at the airport remains high,” Biden said Saturday.

“Our commanders have told me that an attack is very likely to occur in the next 24 to 36 hours,” the president added.

The Islamic State’s regional grouping in Afghanistan and Pakistan is linked to a series of some of the deadliest attacks in recent years. The jihadists attacked civilians in mosques, shrines, squares and even hospitals.

Taliban block access to Kabul airport

The Taliban deployed additional forces around the Kabul airport on Saturday, as evacuation operations by foreign forces came to an end. This was reported by the AP news agency on Saturday.

In doing so, the Taliban seek to prevent large crowds from entering and gathering at the entrances to the Kabul airport.

The Taliban have established new checkpoints where militants travel in US military vans seized from Afghan security forces.

On Saturday, Taliban fighters fired warning shots and colored smoke on the road leading to the airport, scaring dozens of people.

The movement, which has taken control of Afghanistan, has warned that it does not intend to tolerate the presence of foreign troops on the country’s territory after August 31, so Western countries are in a hurry to complete the evacuation by that date.

France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Poland and Hungary have already completed evacuation operations from Afghanistan. More than 100,000 people have been safely evacuated since the middle of the month, according to US People data.

The United States has attacked an alleged “planner” of Islamic State attacks in Afghanistan

The US military reported on Friday a drone strike against the jihadist Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K) attack “planner” over the group’s responsibility in the devastating attack on the Kabul airport.

“The drone struck in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Preliminary data shows that we killed the target,” said Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US General Staff.

“We know there have been no civilian casualties,” said the report on the first US attack in Afghanistan after the attack on the deadly bombers on Thursday.

The coup, organized from a base on the outskirts of Afghanistan, came as a result of continuous evacuation flights from Kabul airport. The latter, after the attack on Thursday, are being carried out in conditions of greater security, with warnings of possible new terrorist attacks, as well as Taliban forces seeking to take control of the airport.

More than 5,000 people are still waiting to be evacuated at the Kabul airport on Saturday as the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan approaches.

But the crowd near the gate has dwindled to a few hundred people, two people said as they entered the airport on Saturday.

US forces overseeing the evacuation are forced to work more closely with the Taliban on security issues to prevent a repeat of attacks similar to Thursday’s bombing that claimed many civilian lives.

More than 100 people, including 13 US troops, were killed in the deaths and a large crowd of gunmen fired at the airport’s Abbey gate, two senior Afghan officials said Saturday. Some media report that there are about 170 deaths.

The jihadist group Islamic State in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, US President Joe Biden promised a response.

“Those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wants to harm America, know: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will find you and make you pay for it,” Biden said Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday afternoon that IS-K is very likely to try again to attack evacuation operations from Kabul.

“We continue to believe that there are compelling threats … specific, compelling threats,” he emphasized.

The United States has warned its citizens to “immediately” leave the area near the main gate of the Kabul airport.

The Islamic State’s regional grouping in Afghanistan and Pakistan is linked to a series of some of the deadliest attacks in recent years. The jihadists attacked civilians in mosques, shrines, squares and even hospitals.

Biden’s spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said US national security experts believe a new attack could be attempted in the coming days and that the period “will be the most dangerous to date.”

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi, in his tweet, said that the fighters had already joined part of the army at the Kabul airport. However, the Pentagon stressed that US forces continue to control all airport gates and evacuation flights.

Rear Admiral Peter Vasely, commander-in-chief of US forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport, is in constant contact with the Taliban representative in charge of security around the airport.

For the Taliban to take over the facilities when the last American plane leaves them, talks have started to ensure the normal operation of the airport.

Turkish officials held preliminary talks with the Taliban in Kabul about the possibility of supporting the airport’s operations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Taliban had proposed that the militants take care of airport security and that Ankara lead logistics operations.

The jihadist group Islamic State in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, US President Joe Biden promised a response.

“Those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wants to harm the United States, know: we will not forgive.” We will not forget. We will find you and make you pay for it, “Biden said Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday afternoon that IS-K is very likely to try again to attack evacuation operations from Kabul.

“We continue to believe that there are compelling threats … specific, compelling threats,” he emphasized.

Isis-K, accused of the Kabul attacks, is a brutal group

The Islamic State branch of the jihadist movement in Afghanistan, known as the Islamic State of Chorasan (Isis-K), claimed responsibility for a dozen victims at the Kabul airport following a US-led evacuation of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Thursday.

Who is this group? The BBC writes about this.

Isis-K – or, more precisely, the “Islamic State of Chorasan” – is a regional branch of ISIS (the so-called “Islamic State”) that operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It is the most brutal and extreme of all the jihadist militant groups in Afghanistan.

It was founded in January 2015, when the power of the Islamic State was at its peak in Iraq and Syria, and before the proclaimed caliphate was defeated and dismantled by a coalition led by the United States.

Isis-K recruits Afghan and Pakistani jihadists, and in particular abandoned members of the Afghan Taliban, for whom the organization does not seem extreme enough, the BBC reports.

Isis-K is accused of some of the biggest atrocities committed in recent years against girls’ schools, hospitals and even maternity homes, where members of the group reportedly shot pregnant women and a nurse.

Unlike the Taliban, whose interests are limited to Afghanistan, Isis-K is part of the global network of the Islamic State. This network seeks to carry out attacks against Western, international and humanitarian targets whenever possible.

Isis-K is located in the eastern province of Nangarhar, close to drug and human trafficking routes to and from Pakistan.

At the peak of power, the group consisted of about 3,000 militants, but suffered heavy losses during clashes with US and Afghan security forces and the Taliban.

Isis-K related to the Taliban? In a sense, it is linked: through a third party, the Haqqani network.

According to researchers, there is a strong link between Isis-K and the Haqqani network, and the Haqqani network itself is closely linked to the Taliban.

Khalil Haqqani, now in charge of security in Kabul, has been assigned the head of 5 million. USD bond (approximately 4.25 million euros).

Sajjan Gohel of the Asia Pacific Foundation has long monitored militant networks in Afghanistan.

“Between 2019 and 2021, Isis-K, the Taliban Haqqani network and other Pakistan-based terror groups cooperated in several large-scale attacks,” Gohel said.

August 15 The Taliban-occupied Taliban released many prisoners from Pul-e-Charki prison, including reportedly Islamic State and al-Qaeda fighters. Now these people are free.

However, there are fundamental differences between Isis-K and the Taliban. Isis-K accuses the Taliban of abandoning jihad and turning the battlefield into peace talks in “luxury” hotels in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Islamic State militants are now a major security challenge for the new Taliban regime. This fact, in a sense, links the Taliban leadership with Western intelligence services.