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.
After the Bundeswehr’s evacuation mission in Afghanistan ended, Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) flew to Tashkent in Uzbekistan on Thursday evening, where the troops have their logistics hub for the mission. She was accompanied by the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Eberhard Zorn, like the Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter. “The evacuation operation in Kabul was extremely dangerous. The Bundeswehr brought as many people as possible to safety under the most difficult of conditions,” the ministry wrote. The Armed Forces Commissioner Eva Högl (SPD) also flew with me.
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.
The Bundeswehr is planning to return the deployed soldiers on Friday afternoon. Your arrival is planned around 4 p.m. at the Wunstorf air base in Lower Saxony. They should therefore be accompanied by Kramp-Karrenbauer.
USA: More than 100,000 people taken from Kabul with allies
According to the White House, the US Air Force and its allies have already flown more than 100,000 people out of Kabul. A representative of the US government said about 7,500 people were brought out of the city on Thursday alone from the morning until shortly before midnight (Kabul time), 5100 of them with aircraft of the US military. This means that the number of Afghans and Western citizens who have flown out since mid-August has risen to 100 100. The majority of them were flown out on US Air Force aircraft.
Taliban: At least 28 fighters killed
At least 28 Taliban members are said to have died in the explosions in front of Kabul airport. As a member of the Taliban told Reuters, they would have lost more people than the Americans. The US has recently reported 13 soldiers killed. The death rates differ significantly depending on the source. A total of 85 people are said to have died in the attacks, reports the Al Jazeera broadcaster. The Taliban speak of 13 to 20 civilians dead. An Afghan offshoot of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility on the Internet for the attack, which is also hostile to the Taliban.
Outside the airport, two suicide bombers blew themselves up, one of them at Abbey Gate, one of the gates of Kabul airport, and another not far from the gate near the Baron Hotel. After the detonations, a number of fighters from the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) opened fire on civilians and soldiers, says US General Kenneth McKenzie, in a video link with journalists in the Pentagon.
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, IS is hostile to the Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan just over a week ago.
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 expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers killed in the attack and asked 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”.
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.
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 “horrific, 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.
US and UK rescue missions continue despite the attack
The US armed forces continue the evacuation mission in Kabul even after the devastating terrorist attack. “We are continuing the order,” says US General Kenneth McKenzie. According to the general, there are still around 1,000 US citizens in Afghanistan.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also stressed that the attack would not prevent his administration from continuing with its tasks. Anything else would dishonor the sacrifice made by the killed soldiers. Austin extends its condolences to the family members and comrades of the killed and injured US soldiers. “We regret their deaths. We will treat their wounds. And we will support the families in their grief. But we will not be dissuaded from our task,” said the minister.
The US military has asked the Taliban to set up their checkpoints outside the airport even further away from the site in order to have an additional safety buffer. There is currently a “high threat” from vehicles that could be used for suicide bombings, stressed McKenzie. “That’s why we want to reduce the possibility that one of these vehicles will come close,” says the general.
The British armed forces also want to continue their evacuation mission. This is what Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after a meeting of the security cabinet. The Prime Minister condemned the act as “barbaric” and expressed his condolences to the USA and “the Afghan people”. He does not want to comment on intelligence about the background. But it was “almost certain” that members of the Taliban were among the victims, said Johnson.
US military expects further attacks
After the attack in Kabul, the US military is expecting further attacks by the terrorists. “We are doing everything we can to be prepared for these attacks,” said US General Kenneth McKenzie. There are also talks with the Taliban, who are responsible for security outside the airport. It is an “extremely active threat situation”. (08/26/2021)