by Sam Baker and Jack Newman at The Daily Mail
The Taliban has delivered a chilling warning to foreign nationals and Afghans scrambling to leave the country, saying there will be ‘consequences’ if the US does not leave Afghanistan by August 31 and extends a deadline for the withdrawal of troops.
Thousands of Afghans who worked with U.S. military forces remain camped around Kabul airport trying to find safety as the clock ticks down. American nationals are also waiting for their own flights home.
President Joe Biden wants all Americans to be out by the end of the month, in order to meet the troop withdrawal agreement reached with the Taliban, although he admitted on Sunday night that an extension was under discussion, while this morning UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the evacuation effort is ‘down to hours now, not weeks’.
Taliban spokesman Dr Suhail Shaheen said the group will not accept an extension to the deadline and warned of retaliation if Western forces extend their ‘occupation’ since the group dramatically swept to power.
Shaheen spoke hours after Biden addressed the nation, appearing to push back against extending the August 31 deadline last night, saying the evacuation process is going to be ‘hard and painful’ and there will be ‘discussions’ about how long it will take.
The President also confirmed during the press conference that as many as 11,000 people had been evacuated from the airport in the last 36 hours, – and that the US has so far transported around 33,000 to safety since the operation began, including 2,500 Americans.
The Pentagon said that of the 11,000 evacuated over the weekend, some 3,900 were flown out by US aircraft – but this still leaves around 15,000 US passport holders and an additional 50,000-60,000 Afghan allies who are seeking transport.
Meanwhile, a White House official revealed that the US transported 10,400 people from Kabul over the last 24 hours, bringing America’s total to around 37,000.
Biden said that U.S. forces had expanded the perimeter around the airport amid fears terrorists may seek to exploit the operation by attacking Americans or Afghan civilians.
And during the early hours of this morning, US soldiers at the airport in Kabul, alongside German forces, were engaged in a gunfight with ‘unknown attackers’ – which resulted in the death of one member of the Afgahn security force, and three additional injuries…
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