Daily US Times: The United States says it will keep evacuating Afghans from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport until “the last moment”, despite continuing concerns about Islamic State (IS) attacks.
Reports from the Afghan capital now suggest as many as 170 people died in Thursday’s suicide attack on crowds at a gate to the airport.
There are still credible threats against the airport, the Pentagon says, adding that they will continue the evacuations until “the last moment”
The US is still processing Afghan people who helped the US and now desperate to leave. Most countries of Nato have now ended their emergency flights.
Blaming deteriorating security at the airport, France ended its evacuation effort on Friday. The government of France said it had flown nearly 3,000 people out of the country.
The deadline set by the United States for its military to leave Afghanistan expires on 31 August.
On Friday night, a spokesman for the Taliban said that they had now taken control of parts of the airport. However, the Pentagon disputed this.
More than 5,000 people remain inside the airport, According to the Pentagon, waiting to be flown out. Officials also said measures had been implemented to improve safety.
The US government says more than 111,000 people have been evacuated from Kabul since the airlift began nearly two weeks ago.
A White House official said that the mission would prioritise the remaining American citizens who wanted to leave, with US forces “engaged in a variety of means to get them to the airport safely”.
Meanwhile, Kabul’s US Embassy advises Americans to avoid travelling to the airport and avoid the airport’s gates because of security threats.
You may read: US braces for more ISIS attacks after carnage at Kabul airport
