Live updates Very high threat of terrorist attack at Kabul airport as US allies start withdrawal

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned Americans late Wednesday to avoid traveling to Kabul airport because of unspecified security threats and advised citizens at three airport gates to “leave immediately.”

Australia and Britain also issued comparable warnings that Afghanistan was facing a “high threat” of a terrorist attack. Although officials did not provide more details, the Biden administration has previously warned that the Islamic State poses a threat to the evacuation mission.

The warnings come as NATO allies, including Poland and Belgium, ended their evacuation flights ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline for U.S. troops to depart. Turkey, which has played a significant role in airport security, also began withdrawing its military.

“The Taliban have made public and private commitments to … permit safe passage for Americans, for third-country nationals and Afghans at risk” past the end of the month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday.

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As many as 1,500 Americans in Afghanistan could still be seeking to leave, Blinken said. At least 4,500 U.S. citizens have been evacuated from the country since Aug. 14.

A Taliban spokesman told NBC News that there was “no evidence” that Osama bin Laden was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, despite plenty of proof to the contrary. The Islamist militants have pledged not to allow Afghanistan to be used as a terrorist base.

The Taliban takeover could drive a coronavirus crisis in Afghanistan as vaccinations plummet, the United Nations warned.

Pace of evacuations slows from record highs earlier in the weekLink copied

The pace of evacuations from Afghanistan has slowed from record highs relayed by the White House earlier this week.

About 13,400 people were flown out of the international airport in Kabul on U.S. military and coalition flights during a 24-hour period ending early Thursday morning Eastern time, according to the White House.

That’s down from about 21,600 and 19,000 during stretches ending Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

During the latest 24-hour period, about 5,100 were evacuated on 17 U.S. military flights while about 8,300 were evacuated on coalition aircraft, according to the White House. The number on U.S. flights is less than half than during the previous 24-hour period.

Since Aug. 14, the United States has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of about 95,700 people, the White House said.

Lawmakers defend unauthorized trip to Kabul, saying it changed their minds on withdrawal deadlineLink copied

Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) have given more details about their unauthorized visit to Kabul, which brought about sharp criticism from senior Democrats and Republicans alike.

Speaking to the New York Times following their visit, Moulton said he had hoped to press President Biden to extend the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline â€" but the trip on Tuesday had changed his mind.

“There’s no way we can get everyone out, even by Sept. 11. So we need to have a working relationship with the Taliban after our departure. And the only way to achieve that is to leave by Aug. 31.”

He said he had learned useful information during the visit â€" including that the task force handling visas for Afghans who had helped the United States was being “overwhelmed by requests from members of Congress,” something he was relaying to other lawmakers.

Meijer, meanwhile, described it as “bizarre and baffling” that the United States was now relying on the Taliban to ensure U.S. allies could be evacuated safely.

“It’s a complicated situation that’s impossible to understand if you’re not on the ground and yet critical to saving the lives of tens of thousands,” he told the New York Times.

The two congressmen, who spent less than 24 hours in Kabul, have been accused of diverting attention and resources from evacuating U.S. civilians and allies.

Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday the two “certainly took time away from what we had been planning to do that day.”

However, Moulton defended the trip in an interview with the Boston Globe, saying the two packed their own supplies, including toilet paper, to reduce the burden on the military operation.

He also said he had made the visit to help Afghans who had worked for the United States, saying that he got “several not just families but groups through the gates.”

“It’s amazing that people think this is about politics when it’s about innocent lives and saving people who have given everything to us from torture and death.”

Key updateNATO chief says 20 years of Afghan war was about protecting America, not AfghanistanLink copied

The secretary general of the NATO alliance defended the bloc’s involvement in Afghanistan for the past 20 years as a successful effort to keep the country from being a sanctuary for terrorists â€" rather than a mission to protect Afghanistan, itself.

In an interview with the Spanish daily El País published Wednesday, Jens Stoltenberg was asked if the U.S. pullout made it an unreliable ally. He replied that the entire Afghan mission was about purging the country of al-Qaeda after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks following the invoking of the alliance’s principle of collective defense under the treaty’s Article 5.

“We didn’t invoke it to protect Afghanistan. We invoked it to protect the U.S., a NATO member. The reason was to go to Afghanistan to stop attacks on the U.S. and other allies,” he said, explaining that the alliance had achieved its mission and the Article 5 principle of collective defense remained intact.

“Afghanistan is a tragedy for the Afghan people. The end of the mission was a hard and difficult decision, but it doesn’t change anything in our commitment to protect each other. It does not impact the credibility of Article 5, because that was to defend the U.S. from terrorist attacks, and that we have done. It wasn’t to protect Afghanistan,” he added.

The U.S. decision under President Donald Trump and then his successor President Biden to pull out all U.S. troops led to the collapse of the Afghan armed forces and a rapid takeover by the Taliban.

U.S. and allied forces remained in control of Kabul airport after the capital fell, and there has been a mad scramble for many Afghans and foreign nationals to get out. With the United States withdrawing its final troops by Tuesday, most evacuation efforts will end this week.

“The longer we stayed, the higher the risk of a terrorist attack, especially if we carried on after Aug. 31 without the Taliban’s tactical permission,” noted Stoltenberg, responding to criticism about the end of evacuation efforts.

British defense chief reportedly complains about diverting evacuation resources toward animals, not peopleLink copied

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has reportedly complained that pleas to airlift a former British marine’s staff and rescue animals from Afghanistan have forced him to divert resources from the mission to evacuate other vulnerable people fleeing Taliban rule.

British media reported Thursday that Wallace made the comments during a call with lawmakers, in which he said he found the situation “upsetting.”

Pen Farthing, who runs a nonprofit animal sanctuary, has campaigned for safe passage for his staff and animals out of the Afghan capital. He received significant backing on social media and got the green light on Wednesday to fly out of Kabul airport, after he had accused the British Defense Ministry of blocking his exit.

“If he arrives with his animals we will seek a slot for his plane,” Wallace tweeted about Farthing, who served with the British military in Afghanistan and later founded the Nowzad charity. “If he does not have his animals with him he and his staff can board an RAF flight.”

That came after days of back-and-forth between Farthing and the British government over flying 200 cats and dogs, along with dozens of staff members from the animal sanctuary, to Britain. Wallace had said the primary challenges were getting so many humans and animals past Taliban checkpoints, throngs of people and troops at the gates of the airport. He has insisted several times that he wanted to “prioritize people over pets.”

On Thursday, Farthing tweeted that his team was stuck outside the airport, where they had waited for 10 hours. He urged the Taliban to let them through and his supporters began tagging Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on social media, seeking his help.

When the militants swept through Kabul in mid-August, Farthing pledged he would not leave unless he could take his staff and animals with him. He appealed for funding to charter a flight to Britain and called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to support the mission.

Tens of thousands of foreigners and Afghans have left the country on U.S., British and other evacuation flights, although many more remain clamoring for a way out.

In quest for legitimacy and to keep money flowing, Taliban pushes for political deal with rivalsLink copied

KABUL â€" The Taliban is scrambling to reach a deal with former Afghan officials to establish a government that could gain international recognition, keep aid money flowing into the country and restore access to billions of dollars in international reserves.

Taliban leaders have shuttled between more than a dozen meetings over the past week with the few former Afghan officials who remain in Kabul, including former president Hamid Karzai; Abdullah Abdullah, former leader of the national reconciliation council; and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former warlord turned politician. The meetings have been held in the presidential palace, former government offices and private compounds.

For the Taliban, a political agreement could help the group avoid again becoming an international pariah, which would push one of the world’s poorest countries even further into poverty. For the former Afghan leaders, a deal would give them a share of power in Afghanistan’s new government.

Key update‘High threat’ of terrorist attack at Kabul airport, U.S. and allies warnLink copied

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul warned Americans late Wednesday to avoid traveling to Kabul airport because of unspecified security threats and advised citizens at three airport gates to “leave immediately.”

Australia, New Zealand and Britain also issued comparable warnings that Afghanistan was facing a “high threat” of a terrorist attack. Although officials did not provide more details, the Biden administration has previously warned that the Islamic State poses a threat to the evacuation mission. (The area around the airport remained “incredibly crowded” early Thursday, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified Western diplomat.)

James Heappey, Britain’s armed forces minister, told Times Radio on Thursday that there was “very credible” U.S. intelligence behind the threat, adding that it was “imminent” and “severe.”

The warnings from the four of the five countries that form the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing network came as NATO allies, including Poland and Belgium, ended their evacuation flights ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline for American troops to depart.

New Zealand also announced Thursday that it was no longer accepting resettlement applications from Afghans. “The window to evacuate people out of Afghanistan is rapidly closing,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that “the situation in Afghanistan right now is highly uncertain, fragile, and changing rapidly.”

Turkey, which has played a significant role in airport security, also has begun withdrawing its military amid growing questions about the future of the airport after allies pull out. The Taliban has asked Turkey for technical help running the airport, according to Reuters, but the Islamist group at the same time is demanding that the Turkish military depart alongside other NATO forces this month.

“The Taliban have made public and private commitments to … permit safe passage for Americans, for third-country nationals and Afghans at risk” past the end of the month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Wednesday.

Heappey said Thursday that he was certain the Taliban would reopen the civilian portion of Kabul airport, which is vital to maintaining aid supplies and operations as well as keeping the country connected to the world.

Virginia airport has welcomed thousands of people fleeing Taliban rule, official saysLink copied

More than 8,600 Afghan refugees and Afghan U.S. citizens have landed at Dulles International Airport from Kabul since that city fell to the Taliban this month, a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Wednesday.

Dulles has been the country’s main port of entry for what Biden administration officials call one of the largest airlifts in history, totaling 82,300 evacuees from Afghanistan to countries worldwide since Aug. 14.

After arriving from Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Germany, Spain and Bulgaria â€" where they were temporarily housed at refugee sites after leaving Kabul â€" the Afghan men, women and children landing at Dulles were tested for the coronavirus, said Grant Neely, Northam’s spokesman.

U.N. food agency to scale up humanitarian flights amid questions on future of Kabul airport Link copied

Pakistan has helped repair damaged planes, allowing a “humanitarian air bridge” to be established between Islamabad and Kabul, the executive director of the World Food Program said, after he warned recently that millions of Afghans could soon face starvation because of a combination of conflict, drought and the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ll have these [planes] moving passengers, U.N. personnel, World Food Program and other humanitarian workers throughout Afghanistan so that we cannot only maintain our operations in this time of need but also scale up,” David Beasley, head of WFP, said in a video posted Thursday on his official Twitter account.

Questions remain, however, on whether Kabul airport will continue to function after the U.S. military withdrawal on Aug. 31. The Taliban has asked Turkey for technical help running the airport, according to Reuters, but the Islamist militant group is at the same time demanding Turkish military forces depart alongside other NATO allies this month. Turkey, which has played a significant role in airport security during the ongoing evacuations, began withdrawing its forces Wednesday.

Keeping the airport open after foreign forces depart is vital to maintaining aid supplies and operations. Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, relies heavily on foreign assistance. The World Bank estimated that aid flows last year made up about 43 percent of an economy battered by decades of conflict.

(James Heappey, a junior British defense minister, told Times Radio Thursday that he was certain the Taliban would reopen the civilian portion of Kabul airport after the Western withdrawal.)

The United States and other aid donors have responded to the Taliban takeover by stopping the flow of aid and freezing Afghanistan’s reserves and other financial accounts.

Key updateTaliban spokesman says ‘no proof’ bin Laden was responsible for 9/11 attacksLink copied

A Taliban spokesman said there was “no proof” that Osama bin Laden was involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.

Zabihullah Mujahid made the remark after the Islamist militant group pledged not to allow Afghanistan to be used once again as a terrorist base.

“When Osama bin Laden became an issue for the Americans, he was in Afghanistan. Although there was no proof he was involved” in 9/11, Mujahid told NBC News in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “Now, we have given promises that Afghan soil won’t be used against anyone.”

When it was last in power, the Taliban provided a safe harbor in Afghanistan for bin Laden, who had fought with the mujahideen against the Soviet Union in the 1980s while he built up the al-Qaeda terrorist network. After the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon masterminded by bin Laden, President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand him over and dismantle terrorist training camps. When the Taliban refused, the Islamist regime was toppled by the Afghan Northern Alliance and U.S.-led airstrikes.

Military officials have warned that the collapse of the Afghan government could also mean a resurgence of al-Qaeda. Although the group has been substantially weakened since 2001, its fighters remain in Afghanistan. In April, the U.S. intelligence community told Congress that al-Qaeda “will continue to plot attacks and seek to exploit conflicts in different regions.”

The United Nations warned in June that al-Qaeda was present in 15 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces, mostly in the country’s eastern and southern regions. The Taliban and al-Qaeda “remain closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties,” the U.N. said.

Biden headed for divisive debate over resettlement of Afghanistan refugees Link copied

President Biden, already facing political peril over the chaotic exit from Afghanistan, has in recent days waded into an escalating domestic debate over thousands of refugees slated to be resettled in the United States.

Criticism is intensifying on Fox News, among Republican state lawmakers in Wisconsin where some refugees are being temporarily housed, and from the nativist, anti-immigrant factions in the country that helped Donald Trump ride into the White House.

From some, there is anger that too many Afghans might be left behind. From others â€" particularly among conservative Republicans â€" there is worry that too many might be allowed to come. And at the center is Biden, facing difficult decisions and ramifications that could linger for months if not years.

Australia warns of ‘deteriorating’ conditions in Kabul; New Zealand stops accepting resettlement requestsLink copied

SYDNEY â€" Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia had evacuated 1,200 people from Afghanistan overnight, bringing the total to more than 4,000 in the past week. But he warned that the situation in Kabul was “deteriorating,” as his government told Australians not to head to Kabul airport.

Morrison said 639 evacuees had arrived in Australia, including 221 on Thursday morning. The number evacuated so far is about three times what he had anticipated when the rescue operation began a week ago, Morrison said. Many of the people who fled with Australian help are now in the United Arab Emirates.

The prime minister would not say when Australia would end its operations.

“When the time comes … we can say honestly to them that Australians have done all that we possibly could have done in these circumstances to get as many people out as safely as possible,” Morrison told reporters.

Morrison’s remarks came as New Zealand announced it was no longer accepting resettlement applications from Afghans because of the “rapidly deteriorating situation” and “diminishing window for evacuations.”

“We cannot guarantee that we will be able to assist all those we are seeking to evacuate,” the Foreign Ministry in Wellington said in a statement, adding that its “focus remains on getting as many people out of Kabul as possible via the current available route for the short amount of time possible.”

On Thursday, Australia joined the United States and Britain in advising people not to go to Kabul airport.

“If you are in the area of the airport, move to a safe location and await further advice,” Foreign Minister Marise Payne said. “Afghanistan remains highly volatile and dangerous. Be aware of the potential for violence and security threats with large crowds. There is an ongoing and very high threat of a terrorist attack.”

She did not provide details on the threat.

“We do understand that this is an extremely distressing situation,” she said. “We remain focused on the safe evacuation from Afghanistan for as many Australians and visa holders as possible, for as long as possible.”

U.S. leaders move to shut down further freelance trips to KabulLink copied

Leaders in the Biden administration and on Capitol Hill took steps Wednesday to discourage members of Congress from taking further unauthorized trips to Kabul, delivering sharp rebukes to a pair of lawmakers who made such a journey this week and warning others not to follow.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin privately made it “clear” he would approve no “VIP visits” to the Kabul airport, the epicenter of a massive evacuation effort, according to a defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal communications.

The moves came in response to Tuesday’s visit to the evacuation by Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Peter Meijer (R-Mich.), a pair of Iraq War veterans who have pressed President Biden to move faster to help vulnerable Afghans.

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