Afghanistan updates: Fresh Kabul attack ‘highly likely’ as world leaders to call for safe zone

US President Joe Biden has warned another attack on the Kabul airlift operation could soon unfold, while world leaders will call for a “safe zone” in the capital.

The United States took aim at the Islamic State group in Afghanistan on Saturday, killing two high-level targets in a drone strike over the devastating suicide bombing at Kabul airport, as President Joe Biden warned another attack on the frantic airlift was “highly likely”.

A series of urgent terror warnings have rattled evacuation efforts overseen by US forces, who 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.

Backpacks and belongings of Afghan people who were waiting to be evacuated at the site of the August 26 twin suicide bombs. Picture: AFP

Taliban Badri fighters, a special forces unit, stand guard as Afghan wait at the main entrance gate of Kabul airport to leave Afghanistan in Kabul. Picture: AFP

Scores of Afghan civilians were killed in the bombing claimed by the regional Islamic State-Khorasan group, along with 13 US troops — several of them just 20 years old, the same length of time as US military operations in Afghanistan.

But Mr Biden said on Saturday that his military commanders believed a fresh attack could come “in the next 24-36 hours”, calling the situation “extremely dangerous”.

“I directed them to take every possible measure to prioritise force protection,” he said after a briefing from his national security team.

Earlier, the Pentagon said it had killed two “high profile” targets — logistics experts for the jihadist group — and wounded another in the drone strike in eastern Afghanistan.

No civilians were hurt in the attack, Major General Hank Taylor told a news conference in Washington.

“The fact that two of these individuals are no longer walking on the face of the Earth, that’s a good thing,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

In recent years, the Islamic State’s Afghanistan-Pakistan chapter has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in those countries — massacring civilians at mosques, shrines, public squares and even hospitals.

Two senior health officials from the former Afghan administration told AFP the death toll from Thursday’s blast had topped 100, including the 13 Americans. Some media have put the toll as high as 170.

The US embassy in Kabul has repeatedly told American citizens to leave areas around the main gates in recent days, as tensions rise before Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline.

Gone are the crowds of thousands around the airport’s perimeter, hoping to be let through and allowed onto a plane.

Now, the Taliban have sealed off roads leading to the airport and are only letting sanctioned buses pass.

Taliban fighters at the main entrance gate of Kabul. Picture: AFP

British military personnel board a Royal Air Force A400M aircraft ahead of departing Kabul Airport on August 28. Picture: AFP

AFP saw more than a dozen small- and medium-sized buses disgorge tense-looking passengers at the main gate of the airport on Saturday.

“We have lists from the Americans … if your name is on the list, you can come through,” one Taliban official told AFP near the civilian passenger terminal.

At the airport on Saturday, heavily armed Taliban fighters were seen throughout the grounds and auxiliary buildings of the complex, while US Marines peered at them from the passenger terminal roof.

After a 20-year war, the foes were within open sight of each other, separated by just 30 metres — and holding fire.

Also in view of the American troops were Badri special forces in humvees gifted to the Afghan defence forces, but now flying the white Taliban flag.

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi tweeted that the group’s fighters had already moved into parts of the military side of Kabul airport, but the Pentagon has repeatedly stressed that US forces retained control over the gates and airlift operations.

Kirby however did confirm Saturday that the United States has begun withdrawing its military personnel from the airport, without saying how many had left.

US President Joe Biden warned another attack on the frantic airlift was “highly likely”. Picture: AFP

With the Taliban poised to take over when the last US plane leaves, discussions have begun on resuming normal flight operations.

Turkish officials have held initial talks with the Taliban in Kabul about helping get the airport back up and running.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Taliban wants to oversee security at the airport, while Ankara runs the logistics.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that talks were in progress with the Taliban in Qatar to “protect and repatriate” at-risk Afghans and may involve “airlift operations”.

He said France was counting on help from Doha — which has good contacts with the Taliban, having hosted peace talks — to organise further flights.

Bank account holders gather outside a closed bank building in Kabul. Since the Taliban seized power 14 days ago government buildings, banks, schools and universities have remained largely closed. Picture: AFP

Under enormous criticism at home and abroad for his handling of the Afghan crisis and the

US military withdrawal, Mr Biden has pledged to stick to the airlift deadline and punish those responsible for the suicide blast.

“This strike was not the last,” he said Saturday after the drone attack. About 112,000 people have been flown out of the country since August 14, the day before the Taliban swept to power, according to the US government.

Many Western allies have announced an end to their airlifts, with some admitting that at-risk Afghans eligible for evacuation had been left behind.

The United Nations said it was bracing for a “worst-case scenario” of up to half a million more refugees from Afghanistan by the end of 2021.

The Taliban have promised a softer brand of rule compared with their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, which ended when the United States invaded Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But many Afghans fear a repeat of their brutal interpretation of Islamic law, as well as reprisals against those working with foreign militaries, Western missions or the previous US-backed government.

A Taliban fighter stands guard at the site of the August 26 suicide bomb, which killed scores of people including 13 US troops. Picture: Wakil Kohsar / AFP.

Relatives load the coffin of a suicide bombing victim into a car on August 27, 2021. Picture: Aamir Qureshi / AFP.

WORLD LEADERS CALL FOR KABUL ‘SAFE ZONE’

France and Britain will on Monday (local time) urge the United Nations to work for the creation of a “safe zone” in the Afghan capital Kabul to protect humanitarian operations, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

“This is very important. This would provide a framework for the United Nations to act in an emergency,” Mr Macron said in comments published in the weekly Journal du Dimanche.

Above all such a safe zone would allow the international community “to maintain pressure on the Taliban,” who are now in power in Afghanistan, the French leader added.

Afghans, hoping to leave Afghanistan, queue at the main entrance gate of Kabul airport in Kabul on August 28. Picture: AFP

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council — France, Britain, the US, Russia and China — will meet on Monday to discuss the Afghanistan situation.

Paris and London will take the opportunity to present a draft resolution which “aims to define, under UN control, a ‘safe zone’ in Kabul, that will allow humanitarian operations to continue,” Mr Macron said.

His comments come as international efforts to airlift foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghanis out of the country comes to an end.

France ended its evacuation efforts on Friday and the United Kingdom followed suit on Saturday US troops have been scrambling in dangerous and chaotic conditions to complete a massive evacuation operation from the Kabul airport by an August 31 deadline.

Mr Macron announced on Saturday that discussions had been “started with the Taliban” to “protect and repatriate” Afghan nationals at risk beyond August 31.

Speaking to reports in Iraq, where he was attending a meeting of key regional leaders, Mr Macron added that with help from Qatar, which maintains good relations with the Taliban, there was a possibility of further airlift operations.

He added that France had evacuated 2,834 people from Afghanistan since August 17.

In the article published by the French Sunday newspaper, Mr Macron said he envisaged targeted evacuations in future “which would not be carried out at the military airport in Kabul” but perhaps via civil airports in the Afghan capital or from neighbouring countries.

Mr Macron also took aim at the kind of talk going on some quarters in France which “stir fears” about the arrival of Afghan refugees in France.

“My role is not to stir up fears among our compatriots, it is to provide solutions to resolve them,” he added, assuring that he aims to manage migratory pressures with “humanity, firmness, with an ability to protect our borders as necessary”.

Originally published as Afghanistan updates: Fresh Kabul attack ‘highly likely’ as world leaders to call for safe zone