Last-ditch evacuation flights took off from Kabul airport on Friday, a day after twin suicide bombings on crowds trying to flee Taliban-controlled Afghanistan killed at least 85 people, including 13 US servicemen. The bombings, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, injected further panic into the final days of an already frenzied US-led airlift. The […]
A large explosion rocked Kabul airport Thursday, the Pentagon said, after Western nations warned of an imminent terror threat and as thousands of people gathered hoping for a flight out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. “We can confirm an explosion outside Kabul airport. Casualties are unclear at this time. We will provide additional details when we can,” […]
Turkey’s defence ministry said Wednesday it had started pulling troops out of Afghanistan, apparently abandoning its plans to help secure Kabul’s strategic airport. “The Turkish Armed Forces are returning to our homeland with the pride of successfully fulfilling the tasks entrusted to it,” the ministry said in a statement. Turkey had more than 500 non-combat […]
Hundreds of dignitaries and thousands of ordinary citizens on Tuesday thronged the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, to witness the inauguration of the country’s new President, Hakainde Hichilema. Many clad in red T-shirts and caps, the colour of the United Party for National Development, started gathering at the stadium as early as […]
A Taliban spokesman on Tuesday said the United States should stop evacuating skilled Afghans, and warned Western forces against extending the August 31 deadline for airlifts out of the country. The hardline Islamist group said Americans were taking “Afghan experts” such as engineers out of Afghanistan. “We ask them to stop this process,” spokesman Zabihullah […]
The Taliban will not announce the makeup of its government until the United States completes its troop withdrawal, two sources in the movement told AFP Monday. “It has been decided that the formation of the government and cabinet will not be announced as long as a single US soldier is present in Afghanistan,” a Taliban […]
The United States on Sunday enlisted several major airlines in its frantic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans and other foreigners from Kabul following its fall to Taliban extremists. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin activated the rarely-used Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to aid the onward movement of people arriving at US bases […]
An Afghan woman has delivered a baby girl just after touching down aboard a US evacuation flight. The US Air Mobility Command posted photos of the woman on its social media platforms early Sunday. She gave birth in the cargo bay of a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft moments after landing at Ramstein Air Base, […]
The Taliban’s senior officials were gathering in the Afghan capital Saturday for talks with elders and politicians on forming a government after their stunning sweep to power last weekend. The inner workings and leadership of the group have long been shrouded in secrecy — even during their rule from 1996 to 2001 — but here […]
The United States says communication lines with the Taliban government in Afghanistan remain open. US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, stated this at a press conference on Wednesday. He also said US forces have the moral obligation to assist allies in the landlocked Asian country, adding that adequate security measures have been put in place to […]
