By akademiotoelektronik, 18/05/2022

First American reprisals against is in Afghanistan, extreme tension at the airport

INTERNATIONAL - Les États-Unis ont mené une frappe de drone contre une cible du groupe État islamique en Afghanistan samedi 28 août, au moment où le pont aérien entrait dans une phase finale d’extrême tension, entre risques persistants de nouveaux attentats et passe d’armes médiatique talibans/Américains à propos de l’aéroport.

He said: "Unmanned air strikes took place in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. "Based on the initial indications, we have killed the target," Central Command's Bill Urban said in a statement. He said he was not aware of "civilian casualties".

At an afternoon news conference, the Pentagon later said it shot down not one but "two important ISIS targets" and another person was injured. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to explain whether they were directly involved in Thursday's bombing near Kabul airport.

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"They are the organizers and operators of ISIS (Editor's Note: The Afghan branch of ISIS, claiming responsibility for this attack), which is already a good reason," the spokesman replied at a news conference. "They are the organizers and operators of ISIS, editor's note: ISIS is the Afghan branch of ISIS, editor's note: ISIS is the Afghan branch of ISIS, editor's note: ISIS is the Afghan branch of ISIS." John Kirby said the attack was carried out "on a mission".

The attack was the first by U.S. forces since Thursday's Aug. 26 bombing at Kabul airport, which killed at least 85 people, including 13 U.S. soldiers. The attack was launched from outside Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden has promised retaliation after the Islamic State of Khorasan (EI-K) claimed responsibility for the attack. "We will hunt you down and we will make you pay," he told the perpetrators of the deadliest attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan since 2011. "We will respond forcefully and accurately when we decide, at the place and time of our choice," he added at the White House.

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Washington says the risk of further attacks remains. "We think there will always be (...) "Specific and credible threats," John Kirby warned Friday. President Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, cited security experts as saying another attack was "possible." The next few days will be "the most dangerous period so far", she added.

Airport control

On the evening of Friday, August 27, as the day before the attack, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert asking U.S. citizens to leave the vicinity of the airport "immediately." "Due to the security threat at Kabul airport, we continue to advise U.S. citizens to avoid going to the airport and avoid the airport gates," the embassy recalled.

An exchange between the Taliban and the United States has exacerbated an already tense situation, with just days to go before the August 31 deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan after two decades of war, meaning the withdrawal is over.

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The new leader of this country "does not handle any operation at any boarding gate or airport. It is still under the control of the U.S. military, "Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

Earlier, the Taliban announced they had taken control of several parts of the airport: "Today, three important sites of the military component of Kabul airport have been evacuated by the Americans and are under the control of the Islamic Emirate," Bilal Karimi, one of their spokesmen, said on Twitter.

On Friday, the situation in Kabul remained calm, especially in the area around the airport, where Western charter flights resumed operations on the airport apron, the last enclave occupied by Western forces in Afghanistan.

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111,900 evacuated

U.S. Gen. Hank Taylor said about 5400 people are currently sheltering in the airport compound, waiting to board, adding that the evacuation will "last until the last minute."

According to the latest U. S. government figures, 11, 900 people have been evacuated since August 14, just before the Taliban took over Kabul. Despite the attacks, both NATO and the European Union have called for a continued withdrawal.

France ended the airlift Friday night, which allowed "nearly 3000 people, including more than 2600 Afghans," to evacuate, according to French Armed Forces Minister Florence Paley.

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A French delegation met with Taliban representatives in Doha Thursday for the first time since they took power in Afghanistan on August 15. Ces discussions ont porté sur la situation à l’aéroport de Kaboul et les opérations d’évacuations, selon les deux parties.

Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Sweden also announced Friday that they had completed evacuation flights, with Germany, the Netherlands, Canada or Australia also completing evacuation flights before them.

On the British side, Prime Minister Johnson estimated that the evacuation was going through their "last few hours". But London will agitate "heaven and earth" to "help" Afghans who are eligible for asylum.

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The "birthright" of work

The Taliban have struggled to present an image of openness and moderation since their return. But many Afghans, often urban dwellers and educated, fear they will create the same fundamentalist and brutal regime they did when they were in power from 1996 to 2001.

Especially those who have worked with foreigners or ousted pro-Western governments in the past few years, fear being silenced or even hunted down, and have contributed to the flow of numerous candidates.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, a former Taliban negotiator at the Doha peace talks, said women have an "innate right to work". "They can work, they can learn, they can get involved in politics, they can do business," he enumerated at a news conference.

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Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called a meeting Monday of the permanent members of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan.

The regional conference to be held in Baghdad on Saturday, August 28th will pay special attention to Afghanistan. Among those expected to attend are the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

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