LIVE: ISIS claims responsibility for rocket attack on Kabul airport

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: A US drone strike struck a vehicle carrying 'suicide bombers' before they could target the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul airport. Stay tuned for the latest news

8:06 AM

Taliban says it wants ties with India

The Taliban has said it wants to maintain Afghanistan's trade, economic and political relations with India. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, a leader of the outfit, said consultations with various groups and political parties are going on to form a government that will have representations from people from "different walks of life".

7:59 AM

Chinese diplomat scolds Blinken for Afghan policy

A senior Chinese diplomat called on the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to work with the Taliban government and stop pressuring Bejing over the virus origin probe in order to improve ties between the world’s biggest economies. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday urged the US to work with the international community to provide economic assistance to the new Afghan government, Bloomberg reported.

6:52 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: US in final phase of evacuations from Kabul

US forces are in the final phase of leaving Kabul, ending two decades of involvement in Afghanistan, and just over 1,000 civilians at the airport remain to be flown out before troops withdraw, a Western security official said on Sunday.

 

The country's new Taliban rulers are prepared to take control of the airport, said an official from the hardline Islamist movement that has swept cross Afghanistan, crushing the US-backed government.
 

The Taliban have already taken over control of three gates at Kabul’s airport from US forces and will be in charge of the rest soon, an official from the group said. Read on...