Afghanistan news and discussions

weatheriscool
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Pentagon confirms second explosion near Kabul airport and "a number of US and civilian casualties"
Source: CNN

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby confirmed that there was at least one other explosion near the airport, this at or near the Baron Hotel.

He said he can confirm that the explosion at Abbey Gate was a "result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US & civilian casualties."

Note: The term "casualties" can refer to those wounded or dead.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/afg ... index.html
weatheriscool
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Pace drops but US evacuates another 13,400 from Afghanistan
Source: The Hill

Roughly 13,400 people were evacuated from Afghanistan between early Wednesday morning and early Thursday morning, the White House said, a steep drop from a day earlier as the U.S. begins to wind down its mission there.

Of the 13,400 evacuees, more than 5,000 were evacuated on 17 U.S. military flights out of Kabul. Another 8,300 people were evacuated on civilian aircraft, the White House said.

Biden administration officials said the U.S. has evacuated more than 95,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14, when the capital city of Kabul fell to the Taliban. The U.S. has relocated more than 100,000 people from Afghanistan since the end of July.

-snip-

But Thursday's evacuation total of 13,400 marked a sharp drop from the 19,000 people who were evacuated in the previous 24 hours. The dip comes as President Biden has said the U.S. will aim to have all troops out of Afghanistan by Aug. 31, despite calls from lawmakers in both parties to extend that deadline to get all Americans and Afghan allies out of the country.


Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... li=BBnbfcQ
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caltrek
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ISIS and the Taliban
by Alex Henderson
August 26, 2021

https://www.alternet.org/2021/08/taliban-2654803030/

Introduction:
(Alternet) As the Biden Administration scrambles to get U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of that country, President Joe Biden and Pentagon officials have feared an attack by one of the Taliban's sworn enemies: ISIS (Islamic State, Iraq and Syria). And on Thursday morning, August 26, the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul suffered a deadly terrorist attack; multiple U.S. casualties were reported by the Pentagon.

Details about the airport attack in Kabul continue to emerge. But the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan only adds to the tension and volatility in that country, as the animosity between ISIS and the Taliban is enormous.

Politico, on August 26, reported, "An ISIS militant wearing a suicide vest was responsible for the first bombing, two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the situation told Politico, detonating around 5 p.m. local time just outside Abbey gate. Three sources said the U.S. troops returned fire soon after."

Afghanistan has its own branch of ISIS, which is known as ISIS-K and has been recruiting jihadists in the war-torn country. On Tuesday, August 24 — two days before the Kabul Airport attack — U.S. Central Command's Gen. Joseph Votel told reporters, "They represent a very sophisticated and dangerous threat that we have to stay focused on." And that same day, Biden warned, "Every day we're on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both U.S. and allied forces and innocent civilians."

The presence of ISIS-K in Afghanistan is not something the new Taliban government welcomes. The Taliban regard ISIS as infidels, and the feeling is mutual.
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WRAPUP 15-Attack on Kabul airport kills at least 13; airlift thrust into chaos
Wed, August 25, 2021, 8:12 PM·6 min read

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Suspected suicide bombers struck the crowded gates of Kabul airport with at least two explosions on Thursday, causing a bloodbath among desperate civilians hoping to flee and casting the final days of the Western airlift of its allies into chaos.

A Taliban official said at least 13 people including children had been killed and 52 wounded, while witnesses spoke of many more bodies. A surgical hospital run by an Italian charity said it was treating more than 60 wounded. The Pentagon said U.S. personnel were among those hurt.

Video images uploaded to the internet by an Afghan journalist showed a pile of bloodsoaked bodies in a street surrounded by debris. The man filming it was wailing.

The explosion took place amid the crowds outside the airport who have been massing in hope of escaping in an airlift which the United States says will end by Tuesday, following the swift capture of the country by the Taliban.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, but U.S. officials pointed the finger at Islamic State's Afghan affiliate, ISIS-Khorosan https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-paci ... 2021-08-26, which has emerged as enemies of both the West and of the Taliban.
weatheriscool
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Last Canadian military flight takes off from Kabul, ending mission
Source: The Canadian Press

Mike Blanchfield
OTTAWA -- Canada's military mission at Kabul airport ended Thursday morning with the majority of its personnel departing, but some Canadians and their families remain trapped in Afghanistan, government officials said Thursday.

Gen. Wayne Eyre, the acting chief of the defence staff, said the Canadians were among the last to leave, and that military personnel are taking the withdrawal personally and many will feel guilty that they had to leave people behind.

Eyre said the airport was under constant threat of attack and Canada and its allies acted admirably.

Indeed, an hour after Eyre and other government officials finished a sobering media briefing, locals left behind could hear several explosions near Hamid Karzai International Airport, so named after the man who became Afghanistan's first post-Taliban president two decades ago.
Much more at the link.

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/politics/ ... -1.5561989
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Latest death toll at Kabul airport is now 60, including 12 U.S. servicemen.
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Yuli Ban
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And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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Yuli Ban
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So the Taliban's our allies in the War on Terror now
Christ, this is loony.
And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future
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Afghanistan: Charity worker Pen Farthing 'targeted' in Kabul attack
40 minutes ago

Image

An ex-Royal Marine who was near to the explosions outside Kabul airport has told how "all hell broke loose" as gunmen fired near his vehicle.

Dozens of people have been killed in two blasts near the airport after warnings that a terror attack could be launched in Afghanistan.

Paul 'Pen' Farthing said his mission to get 200 dogs and cats out alongside his staff had been blocked by US policy.

Mr Farthing said there were chaotic scenes at the airport.

"All hell broke loose at the airport circle which is where I was, which is probably about a mile from the explosions across at the Abbey Gate and we had Taliban there firing into the air," Mr Farthing, who founded the Nowzad shelter, told the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-b ... s-58345074
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caltrek
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Taliban Claims to be Planning ‘Inclusive Caretaker Government’ in Afghanistan
by Osama Bin Javaid
August 27, 2021

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/2 ... fghanistan

Introduction:
(Al Jazeera) The Taliban says it is planning an inclusive caretaker government in Afghanistan after the group toppled the Western-backed administration in a stunning sweep earlier this month.

Taliban sources told Al Jazeera that the caretaker government will include leaders from all ethnicities and tribal backgrounds in the country.

Nearly a dozen names are being considered to be part of the new government, sources said.

The duration of the caretaker government is unclear at the moment.

Afghanistan’s ethnic diversity has been at the centre of politics and conflict in the country, with no single ethnic group enjoying a decisive majority in the country of 40 million people.
Image
Taliban members attending the intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha, Qatar.
File: Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera
Don't mourn, organize.

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