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A Western security official claimed on Sunday that US forces are nearing the end of their two-decade mission in Afghanistan, with just over 1,000 people remaining to be airlifted out before the military leave.
According to an official from the extreme Islamist movement that has stormed over Afghanistan, destroying the US-backed government, the country’s new Taliban rulers are preparing to take control of the airport.
A date and time for the operation’s end has yet to be determined, according to a Western security official who did not want to be identified.
President Joe Biden has stated that he will meet his timetable of withdrawing all American soldiers from Afghanistan by Tuesday, 20 years after they invaded Kabul and toppled the Taliban government for shielding the 9/11 terrorists.
“We want to make sure that every foreign civilian and those in danger are removed as soon as possible. Once this process is completed, forces will begin to depart “According to the officer stationed at the airport,
As the Taliban took control of the capital on Aug. 15, the Western-backed government and Afghan army disintegrated, leaving an administrative vacuum that has fueled worries of a financial collapse and widespread starvation.
The Taliban has announced that under a deal with the US, it will allow foreigners and Afghans who want to leave to fly out. In the last two weeks, the US and its partners have evacuated around 113,500 individuals out of Afghanistan, but tens of thousands more who want to leave will be left behind.
On Saturday, a US official told Reuters that less than 4,000 troops remained at the airport, down from 5,800 at the height of the evacuation mission. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, informed reporters that some troops had been withdrawn, but he wouldn’t specify how many remained.
According to Reuters, a Taliban official said the Islamist group has engineers and technicians ready to take over the airport.
“We’re waiting for the Americans’ final approval to take full charge of Kabul airport, as both parties strive for a quick transfer,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
After an explicit warning from the US government of another extremist strike after a suicide bombing at the airport on Thursday, the Western security official claimed crowds at the airport gates had lessened.
Thousands of Afghans had gathered outside the airport’s gates to try to obtain a flight out since the Taliban retook power, and the bomb killed hundreds of Afghans and 13 American servicemen.
The US announced on Friday that it had killed two militants belonging to Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the attack and is an enemy of both the West and Afghanistan’s new Taliban leadership.
Biden had promised to track down the bombers and claimed the attack would not be the last.
TAKING CHARGE
The Taliban have blasted a late-night US drone strike in Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan in the east.
“Before launching the air raid, the Americans should have told us. It was unmistakably an attack on Afghan soil “Reuters reported that two ladies and a child were injured in the strike, according to a Taliban spokesman.
According to the Taliban, some suspects in the airport blast have been apprehended.
After U.S. soldiers leave, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated on Saturday that the Taliban would take control the airport “very soon” and announce a full cabinet in the coming days.
Mujahid told Reuters that his party has nominated governors and police chiefs in all but one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, and that they would take steps to address the country’s economic issues.
Faced with the loss of billions of dollars in aid, the Taliban pleaded with the US and other Western nations to maintain diplomatic relations when they withdrew. That should only happen, according to Britain, if the Taliban enable safe passage for people who want to flee and respect human rights.
As Washington prepared to finish its mission, military and allied country flights transported fewer people on Saturday.
On Saturday, the last British flight evacuating civilians from Afghanistan departed Kabul. According to a defence ministry spokeswoman, British forces would take a small number of Afghan citizens with them when they leave this weekend. Hundreds of those who had worked with Britain, according to armed forces head Nick Carter, would not make it through.
The airport in Kabul has been chaotic, while the rest of the city has been quite calm. According to a Taliban spokesman, locals have been urged to hand over government equipment such as firearms and trucks within a week.
The airport attack added to Biden’s domestic and international condemnation for the turmoil that ensued after Afghanistan’s government and military crumbled in the face of a rapid Taliban onslaught. He has justified his actions, claiming that the US had long ago achieved its justification for invading Iraq in 2001.
