Ground Report | New Delhi: Taliban warning; Sohail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, said the US president’s August 31 deadline was a “red line” that needed to be met. The statement came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened an emergency meeting of world leaders on Tuesday to ask President Biden to send troops to Afghanistan until the withdrawal is complete.
Taliban warning
President Biden has already said that the option of extending the deadline has been considered, but “hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
The Taliban’s “warning” to the US may be linked to previous reports that claimed the extremists would not announce a new “government” according to an “agreement” with the Biden administration until August 31.
Insurgents captured Kabul last Sunday amid a continued withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, thus capturing power for the second time. Before that, he ruled from 1996-2001, but then lost to US-led troops who arrived here after the 9/11 attacks. Since then, Americans have been in Afghanistan for nearly two decades.
The German armed forces said Monday that there was an exchange of fire between unidentified gunmen, Western security forces, and Afghan guards at the northern gate of Kabul airport.
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According to a Reuters report, thousands of Afghans and foreigners have gathered at the Hamid Karzai International Airport to leave the country after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. One Afghan guard was killed and three others were injured in today’s clash.
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The German military said on Twitter that the attackers also clashed with US and German forces. It was not immediately clear if the bodyguard was a member of the Taliban. The airport has been in chaos since the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital on August 15.
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