The United States warned of a “specific, credible threat” near Kabul airport on Sunday as its forces rush to complete evacuations from Afghanistan by an August 31 deadline and the Taliban prepare to take charge of the key airfield.
In a security alert, the US Embassy in Kabul warned of an attack in specific areas of Kabul airport, including its access gates, as US President Joe Biden told reporters in Washington, DC, his commanders informed him another “attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours”.
Scores of Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers were killed on Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at Kabul airport.
A Western security official said US forces are in the final phase of their operations with about 1,000 civilians in the airport waiting to be evacuated.
Here are the latest updates:
Taliban says DAESH attack is ‘high likely’
Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, reporting from Kabul, said the threat of DAESH remains “very high”.
“We’re told that a DAESH attack is ‘highly likely’,” Bellis said.
“I’ve heard that now from a number of people saying definitely do not go to the airport today,” she added.
The Taliban is particularly concerned about the south entrance of the airport, which is the main entrance protected by the armed group, as well as the northwestern corner of the airport, Bellis said.
“The Taliban said they were incredibly worried about this DAESH threat. They had pushed people back, they had put barbed wire across the road to try and stop anybody getting close and trying to disperse the crowds.”
Taliban patrols outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan [EPA]
‘My heart will be bleeding’: Afghan student trying to evacuate
Al Jazeera spoke to people who are trying to evacuate the country, some of whom are students from the American University in Afghanistan.
They said they expect to go to Qatar, where they will become some of the almost 60,000 Afghans who have been processed outside of America, waiting for their visas, Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis said.
Many say it was an incredibly hard decision to leave.
“My heart will be bleeding, because I have left my family,” a student who had been attempting to evacuate, said.
“I haven’t even said goodbye to my mum, she’s somewhere else. Because of the threats, I couldn’t live in my home for the past few days,” he added. “I was relocating from one home to another to not be detected, so I haven’t said goodbye to my loved ones.”
Taliban Badri fighters, a “special forces” unit, stand guard as Afghans, hoping to leave Afghanistan, wait at the main entrance gate of Kabul airport in Kabul [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
‘Far fewer flights’ to and from Kabul airport
There are “far fewer flights” coming or going from Kabul airport, according to Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, who is reporting from Kabul.
“This morning … there isn’t even a single US plane on the ground at Kabul airport, and there have been far fewer in the air than there were even yesterday,” Bellis said, adding that people are “still attempting” to evacuate.
She added that hundreds of people were trying to get on buses this morning in what has become the latest “strategy” for attempting to evacuate.
This is to try and “streamline” people through the airport so that they’re not lingering outside for too long, and it is in coordination with the Taliban.
Taliban members stand guard at a checkpoint around Hamid Karzai International Airport, the center of evacuation efforts from Afghanistan since the Taliban took over [Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu]
Hundreds line up outside banks in Kabul
Days after banks reopened in Afghanistan, crowds have not died down.
According to Al Jazeera’s Ali Latifi, reporting from Kabul, hundreds could be seen standing outside the capital’s financial institutions, trying to gain access to the funds that had been inaccessible since the Taliban took over the country.
There have been reports of unrest outside several banks in the city, he said.
Bank account holders gather outside a closed bank building in Kabul, following the Taliban’s stunning military takeover of Afghanistan [Aamir Qureshi/AFP]
The US in ‘final phase of evacuations from Kabul’
A Western security official has told the Reuters news agency that US forces are in the final phase of their evacuation from Kabul and just over 1,000 civilians inside the airport remain to be flown out before troops are withdrawn.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said the date and time for the end of the operation were yet to be decided.
“We want to ensure that every foreign civilian and those who are at risk are evacuated today. Forces will start flying out once this process is over,” said the official, who is stationed at Kabul airport.
Taliban waiting for ‘final nod’ to take control of Kabul airport
A Taliban official says the group is prepared to take charge of the Kabul airport.
“We are waiting for the final nod from the Americans to secure full control over Kabul airport as both sides aim for a swift handover,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
The Taliban’s engineers and technicians were ready to take control, the official added.
Taliban members stand guard at a checkpoint around Hamid Karzai International Airport [Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu]
The US warns of ‘specific, credible threat’ near Kabul airport
The US Embassy in Kabul is urging all Americans in the vicinity of Kabul airport to leave the area immediately because of a “specific, credible threat”.
The warning early on Sunday said US citizens should avoid going to the airport and avoid all airport gates. It specifically noted the South (Airport Circle) gate, the new Ministry of the Interior, and the gate near the Panjshir Petrol station on the northwest side of the airport.
US military, ally flights took 2,000 out of Kabul on Saturday: White House
US military and coalition flights took approximately 2,000 people out of Kabul on Saturday, a White House official said.
The evacuations took place over 12 hours between 07:00 and 19:00 GMT, the official said, according to the Reuters news agency.
