After the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the Islamist Taliban took power in the country – and are redesigning it according to their ideas. The most important developments in the news blog.
The first soldiers of the Bundeswehr have returned to Germany from their evacuation mission in Afghanistan. Three military planes landed on the air force base in Wunstorf near Hanover on Friday evening. According to the military, Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) was also on board an aircraft.
The forces started in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The Bundeswehr had set up a hub there to fly Germans and threatened Afghans from Kabul in short shuttle flights. For the return flight of the soldiers to Germany a Airbus A310 of the Air Force and two military transporters A400M used. According to the Bundeswehr, 454 emergency services were involved in the evacuation mission, including 19 women soldiers.
The commander of the Bundeswehr operations command, Lieutenant General Erich Pfeffer, thanked the soldiers of the evacuation mission for their difficult mission. “Today is no reason to celebrate in view of the dramatic situation in Afghanistan. But, it is a day to honor the successful evacuation of more than 5000 people, a day to honor your extremely intensive deployment over almost two weeks,” said Pfeffer the air base in Wunstorf in front of the armed forces.
“At the same time, it is extremely painful to know that we did not succeed in evacuating everyone who worked with or for Germany in Afghanistan in the limited time,” said Pfeffer. “Nevertheless, it is a day of joy about the return of our troops from Kabul. But this joy is also massively clouded by the vile attacks on the airport in Kabul yesterday.”
Pfeffer praised the work of the soldiers, including paratroopers from Seedorf (Lower Saxony), the Special Forces Command (KSK) from Calw (Baden-Württemberg), helicopter teams of the special forces of the Air Force from Laupheim (Baden-Württemberg) and military police from Berlin, Hilden and Munich as well as soldiers from other locations.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to the return of the members of the Bundeswehr. “You can rely on the soldiers of the Bundeswehr! For this I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our country is proud of you,” Steinmeier wrote on his social media channels. Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) also expressed their thanks. It had become clear to her in conversations that the soldiers, the diplomats from Kabul and the police “saw and experienced incredible things and that they achieved incredible things,” said Kramp-Karrenbauer. (08/27/2021)
Biden gives orders to kill the mastermind behind the attack
The US government has emphasized its determination to have the masterminds of the devastating attack in Kabul killed. “He has made it clear that he does not want them to still live on earth,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki in Washington in view of the recent threat by US President Joe Biden against the terrorists. Psaki responded to the question of whether Biden wanted to kill the perpetrators of the attack or bring them to justice. A few hours after the attack, Biden threatened retribution and said: “We will hunt you down and make you pay for it.”
Psaki said the government would not comment on the details of how to deal with the perpetrators of the attack. However, she emphasized that this commitment would remain in place “until it is done”. The president and the military have no doubt that they have every authority to attack Isis-K. (08/27/2021)
Around 300 Germans and more than 10,000 Afghans on German exit lists
Even after the rescue operation has been completed, the federal government wants to help the Germans, Afghan local workers or people at risk who have remained in Afghanistan. The government spokesman Steffen Seibert announced in Berlin. The number of local staff still in the country and people identified to leave the country is changing steadily and is more than 10,000, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office.
It is currently not possible to say how many of the people may have already left in another way. The number of Germans in Afghanistan is estimated at around 300. The Interior Ministry assured that everyone on the list of the Foreign Office would get an entry permit to Germany.
According to the Federal Ministry of Defense, a total of 5,347 people were evacuated from Afghanistan via the airlift. They come from at least 45 countries, said a spokeswoman. Among them were around 500 Germans and 4,000 Afghans. An attempt is now being made to enable further departure either overland or the continued operation of the civil airport in Kabul, said a spokesman for the Foreign Office. To this end, the consulates in neighboring countries would also be reinforced.
He pointed out that in the months before the fall of Kabul, 1900 local workers had been flown out who were seen to be at risk. In the past few days there has been an increasing trend in Kabul that the Germans who remain there are being asked by unknown sources to come to certain places in Kabul. The Foreign Office warned of these cases of disinformation. (08/27/2021)
Number of attack victims increases again – Pentagon makes it clear: only one suicide bomber
The number of people killed in the attack at Kabul airport continues to rise. Afghan health authorities now speak of 79 locals killed, after the last mention of 72 deaths. Since 13 US soldiers also died, the total number of victims now rises to at least 92. At least 28 Taliban fighters are said to be among the dead.
Outside the Kabul airport, a suicide bomber blew himself up on Thursday. At times there was also talk of two detonations. However, the Pentagon has since corrected this. US Major General William Taylor said on Friday at the Pentagon that it was not certain how the false information about two suicide bombers could have come about the previous day. (08/27/2021)
USA: More than 100,000 people brought from Kabul with allies, 5,000 more are still waiting at the airport
According to the White House, the US Air Force and its allies have already flown more than 100,000 people out of Kabul. On Thursday alone, around 7500 people were brought out of the city from the morning until shortly before midnight (Kabul time), 5100 of them with aircraft of the US military, said a representative of the US government. This means that the number of Afghans and Western citizens who have flown out since mid-August has risen to 100 100. Most of them were flown out on US Air Force aircraft.
According to the US military, more than 5,000 people are still waiting to be evacuated at Kabul airport. The number has decreased somewhat, says Major General William Taylor. The US is able to fly people out until the last minute. (08/27/2021)
Kramp-Karrenbauer visits soldiers in Tashkent
The soldiers of the rescue operation from Afghanistan are on their way to Germany. The machines – two A400M and a A310 – started in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, wrote the Ministry of Defense on Twitter. They were now expected at Wunstorf Air Base in Lower Saxony at around 7.45 p.m., the Bundeswehr said.
In addition to the soldiers, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the Armed Forces Commissioner Eva Högl and the General Inspector of the Bundeswehr, General Eberhard Zorn, Germany’s highest-ranking soldier, were on board. The Bundeswehr had evacuated 5,347 people from at least 45 countries, including around 500 Germans and more than 4,000 Afghans. The departure in Uzbekistan had been delayed by several hours, according to reports because of anger with the Uzbek side.
The last German plane with refugees from Kabul landed in Frankfurt am Main on Friday night. 5,347 people from at least 45 countries were brought to safety, including around 500 Germans and more than 4,000 Afghans. Now all German soldiers, diplomats and police officers have left the country. They return from Uzbekistan A400M the Bundeswehr returned to Germany. (08/27/2021)
IS offshoot claims stop for itself
The branch of the terrorist militia Islamic State, which is active in Afghanistan, has claimed the attack at Kabul airport. This is announced by IS-Khorasan, as the IS is called in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with a message from the IS spokesman Amak, which is distributed over the Internet. The IS had previously confessed to the attack on the Telegram messenger service.
ISIS appeared in Afghanistan in early 2015. He wants to establish a “province” called IS-Khorasan there and on Pakistani territory and has carried out attacks primarily on Shiite targets. The US and Afghan security forces have attacked the IS positions several times a week in recent years. Nevertheless, IS continued to carry out serious attacks, intensified recruitment and tried to gain a foothold in northern Afghanistan. Despite great ideological closeness, ISIS is hostile to the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan just over a week ago. (08/26/2021)
Biden: “The IS terrorists will not win”
In an emotional speech in the White House, US President Biden affirmed that the US military would not allow itself to be deterred from the rescue flights from Kabul after the attack in Kabul. “We will continue the evacuations. The IS terrorists will not win. Our mission will continue,” said the president. Biden threatens those responsible for the attack with retaliation: “We will not forget. We will not forgive. We will hunt you down and bring you to account”.
The US President extends his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in the attack and asks for a minute’s silence for the victims. “These American servicemen who gave their lives – it’s an overused word, but perfectly appropriate here – they were heroes,” says Biden. They are the “backbone of America” and “the best that the country has to offer”. (08/26/2021)
Reports of another explosion in the evening
In the evening shortly after around 10 p.m. German time, there were reports of another explosion based on reports from residents. The detonation is said to have occurred in an area three to four kilometers from the airport. A short time later, however, the all-clear comes: the detonation is said to be due to the detonation of ammunition. A former special unit of the Afghan security forces carried out the sorengung so that the ammunition would not fall into the hands of the Taliban. (08/26/2021)
German soldiers not affected
German soldiers are not affected by the attack in Kabul, as the Bundeswehr announced on Twitter shortly after the explosions in the early evening. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) later also said that the government had “no information about German victims.” The foreign minister said the pictures from Kabul are “horrible, and they go to everybody’s heart,” said the foreign minister.
The first attack occurred just minutes before the Bundeswehr’s last evacuation machine started. Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced that the aircraft was in the loading phase when the bombs detonated. Thereupon the responsible command immediately gave the order to start in an emergency. (08/26/2021)