- On Wednesday, Britain warned its citizens to stay away from the Kabul airport, urging them to leave Afghanistan by other means if possible.
Amid growing warnings of terror threats targeting the Kabul airport, several countries have decided to end their evacuation operation ahead of the August 31 deadline for a complete withdrawal of US-led foreign troops. On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert to Americans to stay away from three airport gates.
According to a CNN report, there was “a very specific threat stream” from the Afghan affiliates of the Islamic State against crowds outside the Kabul airport. Senior US officials have reportedly said that the warnings issued by the embassy were related to ongoing threats involving the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan and potential vehicle bombs targeting crowds in and around the Kabul airport.
“Every day we’re on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both us and allied forces and innocent civilians,” US President Biden had also acknowledged the threat at a White House briefing.
Late Wednesday, Britain also warned its citizens to stay away from the Kabul airport, urging them to leave Afghanistan by other means if possible. UK’s armed forces minister James Heappey told Times Radio that the threat against the Hamid Karzai International Airport is “very serious” and “imminent”.
