Latest on Afghanistan: As Biden considers pushing Aug. 31 deadline, Taliban warns of ‘red line’
may look to extend its Aug. 31 deadline for exiting Afghanistan, again vowing that any American who wants to leave the country will be evacuated.
“There’s discussions going on among us and the military about extending,” he said. “Our hope is we will not have to extend.”
But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, in an interview with Sky News on Monday, said Aug. 31 is a “red line” and that extending the American presence would “provoke a reaction.”
“So if they extended, that means they are extending occupation,” he said. While there is no need for that, I think it will deteriorate the relation, it will create mistrust between us. If they are intent on continuing the occupation, so it will provoke a reaction.”
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Meanwhile, an Afghan guard died Monday in a firefight at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. The guard had been exchanging gunfire with unidentified men.
To help speed evacuations, the Air Force is sending nearly three dozen C-17 transport planes to Kabul on Monday, CNN reports, adding that as many as 20,000 people are awaiting an airlift.
American evacuations from Afghanistan picked up speed over the weekend, with President Joe Biden telling the country on Sunday afternoon that 11,000 people had been airlifted out of Kabul in the previous 30 hours.
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Unknown assailant killed at Kabul airport
An attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport left one Afghan soldier dead, according to the U.S. military.
More:Chaos at Kabul airport raises questions about U.S. evacuation effort
ISIS-K.
The threat of ISIS terror attacks in Kabul on civilians surrounding the airport and on American forces posted there has forced changes in planning for the evacuation, according to two U.S. officials.
The fear is that ISIS-K might target the crowds of Afghans and others swarming the gates at Hamid Karzai International airport, one official said. The airfield is secured by more than 5,000 U.S. troops. But the security that exists beyond its perimeter has been provided by the Taliban, who have been beating Afghans and some U.S. citizens at checkpoints leading to the airport.
– Tom Vanden Brook, Josh Meyer
Learn more:Brutal ISIS-K affiliate in Afghanistan poses terror threat to U.S. evacuation