Afghanistan crisis live updates: Biden promises further strikes against ISIS-K

The number of US troops at Kabul airport has fallen below 4,000, a US official told Reuters on Saturday, down from a peak of 5,800. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that a drone strike on Friday targeting an ISIS-K planner was not believed to have hit a senior militant and future military operations were possible.

The US has evacuated nearly 6800 people in the past 24 hours from Afghanistan bringing the total number of evacuees to 1,11,900 since August 14, a top official said on Saturday. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III said in a tweet, "Yesterday, August 27th, another 6,800 people were evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport, bringing the total to 1,11,900 since the operation began and August 14th." The US had said earlier that despite the Kabul blasts, evacuation operations will continue.

The US has evacuated nearly 6800 people in the past 24 hours from Afghanistan bringing the total number of evacuees to 1,11,900 since August 14, a top official said on Saturday. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin III said in a tweet, "Yesterday, August 27th, another 6,800 people were evacuated from Hamid Karzai International Airport, bringing the total to 1,11,900 since the operation began and August 14th." The US had said earlier that despite the Kabul blasts, evacuation operations will continue. White House spokesperson Jen Psaki had said that the US flag will be flown at half-mast until the evening of August 30 to honour the victims killed in the terrorist attacks in Afghanistan's Kabul that included US personnel too.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the situation in Afghanistan on Saturday and agreed on the need for international aid and a common approach by the G7 to the future government of Afghanistan. "The Prime Minister and Chancellor resolved to work, alongside the rest of the G7, to put in place the roadmap on dealing with any new Afghan government discussed at last week's leaders' meeting," Johnson's office said in a statement.

Britain's ambassador to Afghanistan, Laurie Bristow, said on Saturday that the time had come to end an airlift which had evacuated almost 15,000 Afghan and British citizens over the past two weeks. "It's time to close this phase of the operation down but we haven't forgotten the people who still need to leave, and we will do everything we can to help them," he said in a statement at Kabul airport released by Britain's foreign ministry.

The Taliban deployed extra forces around Kabul's airport Saturday to prevent large crowds from gathering after a devastating suicide attack two days earlier, as the massive U.S.-led airlift wound down ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline. New layers of checkpoints sprang up on roads leading to the airport, some manned by uniformed Taliban fighters with Humvees and night-vision goggles captured from Afghan security forces. Areas where large crowds of people have gathered over the past two weeks in hopes of fleeing the country following the Taliban takeover were largely empty.

Amid the US withdrawal from Afghanistan which will have many geopolitical and strategic consequences, a group of 68 Congress lawmakers asked President Joe Biden to "outline" his plan to "move America forward", and urged him to make sure that the Taliban do not destabilise Pakistan and acquire nuclear weapons. In a letter dated August 24 addressed to the US President, 68 members from the House of Representatives and the Senate, also asked Biden to answer critical questions on the downfall of Afghanistan and what his plans are.

The Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan overshadowed a summit in Iraq Saturday attended by key regional leaders, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning of the threat Islamic State group jihadists pose. The meeting comes as Iraq, long a casualty of jihadist militancy, also tries to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran. "We all know that we must not lower our guard, because Daesh (IS) remains a threat, and I know that the fight against these terrorist groups is a priority of your government," Macron said, after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.

China and the US discussed the rapidly evolving situation in Afghanistan during their first round of military-level talks after President Joe Biden came to power in January this year, a media report said on Saturday. Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.

Britain said it will run its last evacuation flights from Kabul on Saturday before pulling out its troops, leaving several hundred Afghans otherwise eligible to fly to the UK behind. The UK is winding up its operation to airlift civilians ahead of the August 31 deadline for US troop withdrawal as Taliban forces prepare to take over the airport. "We're reaching the end of the evacuation, which will take place during the course of today," General Sir Nick Carter, Chief of the Defence Staff, told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday. "We have some civilian flights to take out but it's very few now," he said, after which "it will be necessary to bring our troops out on the remaining aircraft".

Hundreds of Afghans have protested outside a bank in Kabul as others form long lines at cash machines. The protesters Saturday at New Kabul Bank included many civil servants demanding their salaries, which they said had not been paid for the past three to six months. They said even though banks reopened three days ago no one has been able to withdraw cash. ATM machines are still operating, but withdrawals are limited to around $200 every 24 hours, contributing to the formation of long lines. Meanwhile, a UN agency warned that a worsening drought could leave millions in need of humanitarian aid.

The US who first designated the Haqqani Network as a terrorist group in 2012, is now a part of the government in Afghanistan post the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country. Without bold action that doesn't cow to the demands of the terrorists now running Afghanistan, there will be many avoidable deaths in the next few weeks--related to the airport operations alone. There will be massive human rights violations, especially against women, said Jason Criss Howk, writing in Clearance Jobs.

The country's intelligence agencies have warned of a possible terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir after they got inputs regarding the movement of terrorists from across the border. A senior official said that the input was shared with the state intelligence and security agencies concerned to prepare themselves for any untoward situation.

: Twenty years of military action by the United States and its international partners aimed at stamping out terrorism have exacted major tolls on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, but the Kabul airport blast shows that it can still wreak havoc.Ben Hubbard, Eric Schmitt and Matthew Rosenberg, writing in The New York Times said that the Kabul airport terror attack demonstrated that they remain a threat.