Biden raises specter of ISIS-K attack at Kabul airport
by Jerry Dunleavy, Justice Department Reporter |
| August 22, 2021 07:47 PM
President Joe Biden raised the specter of a terrorist attack at or near the Kabul airport, which could be carried out by the Islamic State’s affiliate in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-K, as the U.S. military continues its massive evacuation in a city now controlled by the Taliban.
“I want to say again just how difficult this mission is, and the dangers it poses to our troops on the ground. The security environment is changing rapidly. There are civilians crowded at the airport — although we’ve cleared it of thousands of them,” Biden said during a Sunday speech from the White House. “We know that terrorists may seek to exploit the situation and target innocent Afghans or American troops. We are maintaining constant vigilance to monitor and disrupt threats of any source, including the likely source being ISIS-K.”
The U.S. Embassy had to be abandoned a week ago, and Hamid Karzai International Airport erupted into chaos as crowds of Afghans attempted to flee when the Taliban marched into Kabul last Sunday following an ill-planned U.S. military withdrawal.
Thousands of U.S. troops had to be sent back into the country to assist with the evacuation and to protect the airport, with the Taliban just outside the perimeter and with thousands of Americans and Afghan allies stuck outside. There have been numerous reports of the Taliban preventing U.S. citizens and Afghan allies from reaching the airport, including by beating them.
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