LIVE: US troop strength in Kabul falls below 4,000, says official

Afghanistan terror attack LIVE updates: National security officials warned US President Biden that another terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, is 'likely' soon. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

Afghanistan latest news: National security officials warned US President Biden on Friday (local time) that another terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, is "likely" in the final days of the US military mission in the country.

Biden and Vice President Harris met with Pentagon officials and members of the president's national security team one day after a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport attributed to ISIS killed more than a dozen US service members and dozens of Afghan civilians. The Hill reported.

"They advised the president and vice president that another terror attack in Kabul is likely, but that they are taking maximum force protection measures at the Kabul airport," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a briefing.

The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on August 15. Their sudden victory, which comes as the US withdraws from the country following a 20-year-war, has sparked chaos at Kabul's airport, from where America and allied nations are trying to safely evacuate thousands of citizens and allies.

Back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the renovated complex of Jallianwala Bagh memorial on August 28 via video conference. The Prime Minister's Office said Modi will also inaugurate museum galleries developed at the memorial in Amritsar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be on a three-day Gujarat visit starting today during which, he will attend meetings and review development works in Ahmedabad district and his Lok Sabha constituency.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

To read updates from yesterday's blog, click here

8:45 PM

Last British flight evacuating civilians from Afghanistan has left Kabul

8:35 PM

'The number of US troops at Kabul airport has fallen below 4,000'

The number of US troops at Kabul airport has fallen below 4,000, a US official told Reuters on Saturday, down from a peak of 5,800.

 

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that a drone strike on Friday targeting an ISIS-K planner was not believed to have hit a senior militant and future military operations were possible.

8:26 PM

6,800 people evacuated from Kabul in 24 hours: White House

6:21 PM

Taliban largely seal off Kabul airport

The Taliban deployed extra forces around Kabul's airport Saturday to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive U.S.-led airlift wound down ahead of an August 31 deadline.

 

New layers of checkpoints sprang up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where large crowds of people have gathered over the past two weeks in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover were largely empty.

5:13 PM

China, US hold first military-level talks under Biden's presidency

China and the US discussed the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan during their first round of military-level talks after President Joe Biden came to power in January this year, a media report said on Saturday.

 

Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.

 

“Afghanistan crisis is one of the most urgent issues of risk management that needs to be discussed … Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi raised this issue in the Alaska talks [earlier this year], but his American counterpart ignored it,” the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted an official of the Chinese military as saying.

3:09 PM

UK to conclude civilian evacuation from Afghanistan

British troops will end their evacuation of civilians from Afghanistan on Saturday and many hundreds of Afghans entitled to resettlement in Britain are likely to be left behind, armed forces chief General Nick Carter said.

 

British defence minister Ben Wallace said on Friday that the country was entering the final hours of its evacuation and would process only people who were already inside Kabul airport.

 

"We have some civilian flights to take out, but it is very few now," Carter told the BBC. "We're reaching the end of the evacuation, which will take place during the course of today.

1:24 PM

2 UK nationals among dead in Kabul airport attack: Foreign Secy

Two Britons and a child of another UK national were killed in the twin bombings at the Kabul airport, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said.

 

"I was deeply saddened to learn that two British nationals and the child of another British national were killed by yesterday's terror attack, with two more injured," Raab said in a statement on Friday.

 

Two suicide bomb attacks rocked the Kabul airport in the Afghan capital on Thursday, killing at least 103 people, including 13 US service members, and injuring 158 others.

 

The Islamic State (IS) terror group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, saying it was targeting "translators and collaborators with the American army". Read on...

12:34 PM

'No proof' Osama bin Laden was involved in 9/11: Taliban

The Taliban have said that there was "no proof" that slain Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

 

The Taliban, which provided safe harbour to Osama bin Laden for several years during its previous rule in Afghanistan, had refused to hand over the dreaded terrorist to the US following the 9/11 attacks.

 

According to Washington Post, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told NBC News in an interview broadcast on Wednesday: "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.

 

He added, "Now, we have given promises that Afghan soil won't be used against anyone."

12:33 PM

Taliban's resurgence has far-reaching implications for regional security, says expert

The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, historically called the "heart of Asia" for its central location, has far-reaching implications for regional security, potentially including Kashmir.

 

Moyuru Baba, in an article in Nikkei Asia, said that Taliban resurgence is a chance for Pakistan to expand its influence in Kashmir. This has raised alarm in India that terrorist groups could rise up to threaten Kashmir.

 

After the fall of the previous Taliban regime in 2001, India worked with Afghanistan's democratic government to build infrastructure.

 

Pakistan, which supported the Taliban in its rise to power in 1994, is believed to have continued aiding the group behind the scenes since then, as a security counterweight to its foe India, reported Nikkei Asia.

 

Pakistan has welcomed the Taliban's replacement of a government that had kept Islamabad at arm's length with one expected to allow greater Pakistani influence in Afghanistan. Some observers speculate that Pakistan will cooperate with China to extend its reach in Central Asia, said Baba.

11:47 AM

Everybody is heartbroken over what's going on in Afghanistan: Australia's High Commissioner to India

Everybody is heartbroken over what's going on in Afghanistan. Australia had to suspend its evacuation 2 days ago due to the (airport) explosion. We've evacuated 4,000 people. Clearly, there are more to go: Barry O'Farrell, Australia's High Commissioner to India, on #Afghanistan

10:49 AM

Opinion | Joe Biden: Sheep in sheep's clothing, writes Shekhar Gupta

We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” said US President Joe Biden, hours after the bombings at Kabul airport killed nearly a hundred people, including at least 13 US soldiers at last count. His was a valiant attempt to sound angry, resolute and menacing.

 

He ended up, regrettably for him and his nation, looking exactly like what he is: Sheep in sheep’s clothing. In polarised times, Biden’s committed voters might still have tears of inspiration in their eyes. Most of the others will feel sorry for him, or laugh. The target of his frustrated ire, Af-Pak jehadist groups, won’t be impressed. Click here to continue reading

9:45 AM

Any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan: US Senator

Any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan, a senior Republican Senator has said.

 

We all must remember (that) Pakistan is a nuclear-armed nation, and there is a Pakistan version of the Taliban who wishes to topple the Pakistani government and military, Senator Lindsay Graham tweeted, in an apparent reference to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

 

Therefore, "any sustainable solution in Afghanistan must include Pakistan," he said, adding that these are "very dangerous times".

9:44 AM

US evacuates over 109K people from Afghanistan since Aug 14, says White House

The US has evacuated and facilitated the shifting of approximately 109,200 people from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul since August 14, the White House has said.

 

It also said that the US evacuated approximately 4,200 people in 12 hours on Friday, following the deadly suicide attack near the Kabul airport on Thursday.

 

This is the result of 12 US military flights (9 C-17s and 3 C-130s) which carried approximately 2,100 evacuees, and 29 coalition flights which carried approximately 2,100 people, the White House said in its latest update of the evacuation figures on Friday.

 

Since August 14, the US has evacuated and facilitated the evacuation of approximately 109,200 people. Since the end of July, we have re-located approximately 114,800 people, it said.

9:21 AM

Focusing on bringing back remaining Indians from Afghanistan: India

A day after devastating bombings outside the Kabul airport killed over 100 people, India on Friday said its primary focus is to bring back the remaining Indians from the Afghan capital even as it indicated adopting a cautious approach in recognising any new regime in Afghanistan in view of "lack of clarity" on government formation.

 

Around 20 Indians and over 100 Afghan nationals could not reach the Kabul airport on Wednesday to board an evacuation flight to India reportedly because of the precarious security scenario and multiple check-posts put up by the Taliban. Read on....

8:50 AM

Taliban, Haqqani Network two 'separate entities', says US on sharing intelligence with proscribed terror group

Despite close links between the Taliban and the proscribed outfit Haqqani Network, the US State Department on Friday (local time) said that they are two separate entities.

 

During a press briefing, when US State Department spokesperson Ned Price was asked about sharing information regarding the security of Kabul airport with the Taliban and whether it was extended to Haqqani Network, Price replied, "The Taliban and Haqqani Network are two separate entities."

 

Despite his denial, it is reported that the Taliban and the Haqqani Network share strong links. The US first designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist group in 2012.

 

The National Counterterrorism Center said the Haqqanis "is considered the most lethal and sophisticated insurgent group targeting US, Coalition, and Afghan forces" and said the Haqqani Network was considered a terrorist group "because of its involvement in the Afghan insurgency, attacks on US military and civilian personnel and Western interests in Afghanistan, and because of its ties to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda."