US warns of more terror attacks at Kabul airport

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Suicide bomb threats hung over the final phase of the US military’s airlift operation from Kabul Sunday, with President Joe Biden warning another attack was highly likely
before the evacuations end, AFP reports.

More than 112,000 people have fled Afghanistan via the massive US-led airlift since the Taliban
movement swept back into power a fortnight ago, and the operation is winding down despite
Western powers saying thousands may be left behind.

What had already been a chaotic and desperate evacuation turned bloody on Thursday when a suicide
bomber from the local chapter of the Islamic State group targeted US troops stopping huge crowds of
people from entering the airport.

More than 100 people died in the attack, including 13 US service personnel, slowing down the airlifts
ahead of Biden’s deadline for evacuations to end by Tuesday.

The Pentagon said Saturday retaliation drone strikes had killed two “high-level” IS jihadists in eastern
Afghanistan, but Biden warned of more attacks from the group.

“The situation on the ground continues to be extremely dangerous, and the threat of terrorist attacks
on the airport remains high,” Biden said.

“Our commanders informed me that an attack is highly likely in the next 24-36 hours.”

The US embassy in Kabul later released an alert warning of credible threats at specific areas of the
airport, including access gates.

In recent years, the Islamic State’s Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter has been responsible for some of the
deadliest attacks in those countries.

They have massacred civilians at mosques, public squares, schools, and even hospitals.

While both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamists, they are bitter foes — with each claiming to
be the true flag-bearers of jihad.

• Unthinkable co-operation –

The IS attack has forced the US military and the Taliban into a form of cooperation to ensure security at
the airport that was unthinkable a fortnight ago.

On Saturday Taliban fighters escorted a steady stream of Afghans from buses to the main passenger
terminal, handing them over to US troops for evacuation.

The troops were seen throughout the civilian side of the airport grounds and annexe buildings, while
US Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof.

After a 20-year war, the foes were within open sight of each other, separated by just 30 metres.

Also in view of the US troops were the Taliban’s “Badri” special forces in American Humvees gifted to
the now-vanquished Afghan army.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi tweeted that the group’s fighters had already moved into parts of the
military side of the airport, but the Pentagon stressed that US forces retained control over the gates
and airlift.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, however, said US troops had already started withdrawing — without
saying how many were left.