KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A panic of people trying to enter Kabul International Airport has killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowd, the British army said on Sunday, showing the danger still posed by those trying to flee the city. taking the country by the Taliban.
The deaths come as a new perceived threat from the Islamic State-affiliated group in Afghanistan that has seen U.S. military planes land at the airport, surrounded by Taliban fighters. Other planes have fired flares at takeoff, an effort to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles aimed at the planes.
The changes come as the U.S. embassy on Saturday issued a new security warning to urge citizens not to travel to Kabul airport without individual instructions from a U.S. government representative. Officials declined to provide further details about the IS threat, but described it as significant. They said there have not yet been confirmed attacks by militants, who have fought the Taliban in the past.
On Sunday, the British army recognized the seven civilian deaths in the Kabul crowds. There have been stampede and crushing injuries in the crowds, especially as Taliban fighters shoot into the air to drive the desperate out of any flight out of the country.
“Field conditions remain extremely difficult, but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely as possible,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
On Saturday, British and Western troops with full combat equipment attempted to control the crowds they pressed. They took some that were sweaty and pale. With temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), soldiers sprayed water from the hose on the congregants or gave them bottled water to pour over their heads.
“Listen sir, you need to calm down,” one soldier said to a man lying on the ground, while another gave him an orange liquid. “Calm down.”
It was not immediately known whether the killings had been physically crushed, drowned or suffered a fatal heart attack among the crowds. The soldiers covered several corpses with white clothes to hide them from view. Other troops stood on concrete barriers or shipping containers, trying to calm the crowd. Sometimes they fired shots.
Speaking to an Iranian state television channel on Saturday night in a video call, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem blamed the deaths at the U.S. airport on what quickly turned into an interview. combative.
“The Americans announced that we would take you to America with us and people gathered at Kabul airport,” Naeem said. “If it were advertised right now in any country in the world, wouldn’t people go there?”
The host of Iranian state television, which has long criticized the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, quickly said, “It will not happen in Iran.”
Naeem replied, “Make sure this will happen anywhere.”
Thousands of people rushed to the airport last Monday in chaos that caused the U.S. to try to clear the runway with low-flying attack helicopters. Several Afghans were killed as they hung next to a U.S. military cargo plane. It has been difficult to know the full scale of the deaths and injuries resulting from the chaos.
The Biden administration is considering asking U.S. commercial airlines to provide aircraft and crews to help transport Afghan refugees once they are evacuated from their country by military aircraft. According to the Civil Reserve Air Force’s voluntary program, civilian airlines are increasing the capacity of military aircraft during a crisis related to national defense. This program was born out of the Berlin Air Bridge.
The U.S. Transportation Command said Saturday it had issued a warning order to U.S. companies Friday night about possible activation of the program. If requested, commercial airlines would transport evacuees from departure stations outside Afghanistan to another country or from Virginia Dulles International Airport to U.S. military bases.
Meanwhile, the Taliban’s top political leader arrived in Kabul to talk about forming a new government. The presence of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who returned to Kandahar earlier this week from Qatar, was confirmed by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media. . Baradar negotiated the militants ’peace deal for 2020 with the United States and is now expected to play a key role in the negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government officials that the militant group deposed.
Afghan officials familiar with the talks in the capital say the Taliban have said they will not make announcements about their government until Aug. 31 for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government, tweeted that he and former President Hamid Karzai met on Saturday with the Taliban’s interim governor in Kabul, who “assured us that he would do everything possible for the security of the people “of the city.
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Akhgar reported from Istanbul and Gambrell in Dubai, UAE. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
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Afghanistan coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan