WASHINGTON – The United States yesterday warned of a “specific, credible threat” near Kabul airport and urged its citizens to leave the area, days after a deadly attack on crowds fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
A series of urgent terror warnings has rattled evacuation efforts overseen by US forces, which have been forced into closer security cooperation with the Taliban to prevent a repeat of Thursday’s carnage at one of the facility’s main access gates.
“Due to a specific, credible threat, all US citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport... should leave the airport area immediately,” said the US embassy in the Afghan capital in a security alert.
In the alert, the embassy noted the threat to “the South (Airport Circle) Gate, the new Interior Ministry, and the gate near the Panjshir petrol station on the northwest side of the airport”.
Earlier yesterday, US President Joe Biden warned that his military commanders believe a fresh attack could come “in the next 24 to 36 hours”, calling the situation “extremely dangerous”.
Scores of Afghan civilians and 13 US troops were killed on Thursday in the bombing attack claimed by the regional Islamic State-Khorasan group. – AFP, August 29, 2021
