Minute by minute: At least 60 civilians died during the attacks at Kabul Airport. USA blames Islamic State – Diary of N

Minute by minute

The Taliban have taken power in Afghanistan
foreign embassies evacuate their staff and local collaborators
Slovakia is still working on the arrival of a special for our citizens
The Taliban are calling for no foreign forces to remain in the country after August 31
Kabul Airport, where evacuation flights are taking place, has been the target of suicide attacks

Today is a difficult day, the commander of the US armed forces said about the attacks at the airport in Kabul in the Middle East, General Kenneth McKenzie. Despite the attacks to which the Islamic State has committed itself, the US military will continue to evacuate.

There are currently about a thousand more American citizens in Afghanistan.

“We continue to focus on protecting our forces and evacuees as the evacuation continues. Let me make it clear that, although we are saddened by the loss of life of both Americans and Afghans, we are still pursuing the mission. Our mission is to evacuate US citizens, third-country nationals, holders of special immigration visas, US embassy staff and Afghans at risk. Despite this attack, we continue our mission, “said McKenzie. (tasr, ap)

20:47

At least 60 Afghan civilians and 12 US soldiers have been killed in suicide attacks at Kabul airport. At least 150 other people were injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

“We can confirm that the explosion at (airport gate marked) Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack – We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, near Abbey Gate,” said Secretary of Defense John Kirby. Four members of the US Marines allegedly died during the attacks.

According to a source from the British Ministry of Defense, it is believed that the explosion in front of the Baron Hotel was caused by a suicide bomber, while a bomb at the airport gate was probably planted in a car.

According to an unnamed US official, Washington is “definitely” working with the version that the attacks were perpetrated by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, specifically its offshoot operating in Afghanistan, known as IS-K or ISIS-K.

Western intelligence services today warned that there was a serious threat of a terrorist attack at the airport.

Several states have called on their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid the airport from which they will evacuate flights with foreigners and their Afghan counterparts. However, according to the AP, few people seem to have listened to the call, as individual countries are preparing to complete the evacuation in a few days or within a few hours. (tasr, čtk, wsj, ap, guardian)

19:40

Macron, Merkel and Stoltenberg reacted to the explosions in Kabul. France is still trying to evacuate hundreds of people from Kabul, but the situation at the airport is very dangerous, says the French president.

“We will do everything in our power to bring Afghan citizens and dual citizens to France, who have worked at the French embassy and are currently on 20 buses outside Kabul airport,” Macron said during his visit to Ireland. He also confirmed that the French ambassador would leave Afghanistan for Paris.

In connection with the latest events in Kabul, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened an extraordinary meeting of the government security team Cobra. He described the attack in Kabul as “barbaric” and assured that the United Kingdom would continue the evacuation operation until the “last minute”, although it was nearing its end.

Johnson believes the Taliban will allow people to leave Afghanistan after August 31, until US troops leave.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned Thursday’s “disgusting” act at Kabul airport. “We don’t know all the details yet, but the terrorists targeted people waiting in front of the airport gates, hoping to leave [z Afganistanu]. They wanted security and freedom, so in this very tense situation it is a disgusting attack, “said Merkel.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), described the events in Kabul as a “terrible terrorist attack.” According to him, the priority remains to evacuate as many people as possible to safety as soon as possible.

Charles Michel, President of the European Council, also responded to the explosion in Kabul. “I am very concerned about the reports of the Kabul explosion and are monitoring the situation closely.… Ensuring a safe transition to the airport remains vital,” Michel said on Twitter, adding that it was necessary to ensure that the current instability did not lead to a resurgence of terrorism. (tasr, afp)

14:19

Russia has said it has not yet decided whether to recognize the Taliban. President Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would first monitor “the Taliban’s steps to ensure the order and security of the country’s citizens, as well as to provide security to Russian diplomats.”

Peskov stressed that Russia wants to see peace and stability in Afghanistan and hopes that the new government will try to stop the flow of drugs from Afghanistan.

Moscow fought in the Decade War in Afghanistan, which ended with the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989.

In the last few years, however, Moscow has returned to the diplomatic scene as a mediator and addressed hostile Afghan factions, including the Taliban, although the militant movement was included in Russia’s list of terrorist organizations in 2003. (tasr)

14:10

The Taliban will again ban music in Afghanistan because it considers it un-Islamic. But it will try to persuade people to abide by the ban and not force them to do so. This marks a return to one of the strict regulations in force during the Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said this in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday.

The Taliban have returned to power in Afghanistan this month, but are trying to be more moderate. In his first interview with foreign media, a Mujahid spokesman emphasized that the Taliban had changed in recent years. “We want to work on the future and forget what happened in the past,” he said.

During the previous Taliban rule in the 1990s, all forms of music were banned in Afghanistan except religious songs, because, according to the movement’s leaders, they could evoke unclean thoughts in people.

In recent days, radio and television stations in Afghanistan have stopped broadcasting music, with the exception of Islamic songs. However, it was not yet clear whether this had happened to Taliban regulations or whether it was self-censorship to prevent conflict with insurgents.

Under the previous Taliban regime, a number of strict rules applied to women who were not allowed to leave home unaccompanied by a male relative, were not allowed to study and do most jobs. This week, Mujahideen called on Afghan women to stay home for the time being because the Taliban had not been trained to respect them.

However, according to Mujahide’s Wednesday, fears that the Taliban would force women to stay at home in the future are unfounded. “If they go to school, office, university or hospital, they will not need a male guardian escort,” the spokesman said. According to him, the escort of a male guardian will be necessary only if the women travel on a journey lasting three days or more. (čtk)

13:53

The United States will complete evacuation operations in Afghanistan within 36 hours. They are currently focusing on transporting Afghan personnel who worked for the US Embassy. In addition to Kabul Airport, there were approximately 1,800 members of such personnel left.

A total of more than 10,000 people are waiting to be evacuated at Kabul Airport, CNN writes, referring to the US Department of Defense. However, the operation is threatened by the risk of a terrorist attack by the extremist organization Islamic State.

According to the source, there are still about 150 American citizens in Afghanistan, whom the United States needs to get to the airport. The United States has evacuated 4,700 of its citizens from Afghanistan since August 14.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced at a press conference on Wednesday that the United States and its allies had evacuated more than 82,300 people from Afghanistan in recent days.

According to Blinken, authorities registered 500 Americans on Wednesday afternoon who needed to get to the airport. Another 1,000 people may also need help, but the CNN authorities did not have reliable information about their citizenship or whether they wanted to leave the country. (tasr)

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