Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

US drone strike killed 'ISIS-K planner' in Afghanistan, Pentagon says
The Pentagon says the "target" was killed in the attack
"Although it is clear to me that we could not continue to put American servicemembers in danger for an unwinnable war, I also believe that the evacuation process appears to have been egregiously mishandled," Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., tweeted Thursday. "In order to move forward, we need answers and accountability regarding the cascading failures that led us to this moment."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-drone-strike-killed-isis-k-planner-in-afghanistan-pentagon-says




Who has been running our government, not Biden.



State Dept. contradicts Biden's remarks on 'kill list'

State Department spokesperson Ned Price seemingly contradicted President Biden’s acknowledgment that the United States may have provided the Taliban with a list of names of Americans and allies in order to usher them to the airport.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-department-contradicts-bidens-remarks-that-there-may-be-a-kill-list-provided-to-taliban

who is the State Department

The United States Department of State (DOS),[3] or State Department,[4] is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the nation's foreign policy and international relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nations, its primary duties are advising the U.S. president, administering diplomatic missions, negotiating international treaties and agreements, and representing the U.S. at the United Nations.[5] The department is headquartered in the Harry S Truman Building, a few blocks from the White House, in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; "Foggy Bottom" is thus sometimes used as a metonym.

Established in 1789 as the first administrative arm of the U.S. executive branch, the State Department is considered among the most powerful and prestigious executive agencies.[6] It is led by the secretary of state, a member of the Cabinet who is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Analogous to a foreign minister, the secretary of state serves as the federal government's chief diplomat and representative abroad, and is the first Cabinet official in the order of precedence and in the presidential line of succession. The position is currently held by Antony Blinken who was appointed by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate on January 26, 2021 by a vote of 78–22.[7]

As of 2019, the State Department maintains 273 diplomatic posts worldwide, second only to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[8] It also manages the US Foreign Service, provides diplomatic training to US officials and military personnel, exercises partial jurisdiction over immigration, and provides various services to Americans, such as issuing passports and visas, posting foreign travel advisories, and advancing commercial ties abroad. The department administers the oldest US civilian intelligence agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and maintains a law enforcement arm, the Diplomatic Security Service.




Republican congressmen call for Blinken impeachment: 'He took an oath and he failed'
Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland and Ralph Norman of South Carolina formally announced impeachment articles against Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, with Harris saying in a statement Afghanistan has become an "unmitigated catastrophe [and] preventable tragedy [that] rests solely on the shoulders of President Biden and his administration, and in particular the Secretary of State."
"We are the most powerful nation on the planet, and we must make clear to the Taliban that we will stay to get our people out as long as that takes.  Secretary Blinken’s complete and utter failure of managing this avoidable catastrophe makes him unfit for leadership, and I hope my colleagues will join me in pushing for his removal," wrote Dr. Harris, who represents Elkton and the Eastern Shore.

Harris told Fox News' "Ingraham Angle" on Friday that there is a bipartisan sentiment that the Biden administration "botched" the Afghanistan withdrawal – and that most Americans should be informed that the State Department, not the Pentagon, was truly in charge of the effort.
"Very few things that we do on a bipartisan basis in Washington. We on a bipartisan basis agree this … withdrawal is a catastrophe," Harris told host Pete

Hegseth.https://www.foxnews.com/media/republican-congressmen-blinken-impeachment

UK's final Kabul evacuations take place today as general warns 'we should hold our breath for that last plane' amid fears ISIS could carry out new attack there or in Britain... while 150 Brits and 1,000 Afghans are left behind

The attack killed at least 170 people, including 13 U.S. troops, two Britons and the child of a UK national

General Sir Richard Barrons said that suicide attack served to underline the ISIS threat in Britain

'It illustrates that ISIS is a risk to the United Kingdom, here at home, and to our interests abroad,' he said

Flight carrying British troops landed at RAF Brize Norton on Saturday morning

General Sir Richard Barrons said ISIS now posed a threat which reached British soil.

'What [the suicide bombing] does do is illustrate that Isis-K is a risk to the United Kingdom, here at home, and to our interests abroad,' the general said.

'We're going to find common cause with the US, and indeed I think the Taliban, in bearing down on this terrible organisation for as long as it takes to neuter them.'  


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9935345/Last-UK-flights-leave-Kabul-TODAY.html

Since no one can trust anyone, or anything anyone says, unless it's verified by two or more credible sources, is it possible that the U S evacuated Bagram, and left billions of dollars of equipment for the Taliban to be able to be equipped to fight IS-K? I mean I don't think they could get away with telling the American people they was going to do it, nor with supplying the Taliban with military equipment openly. So, what happened, how it happened, would be a way to?



What Is the Islamic State in Khorasan?

By ChWhile IS-K has received international attention in recent days, it formed more than six years ago. In April 2014, the leadership of the Islamic State began recruiting efforts for IS-K, through the appointment of Qari Wali Rahman as special representative of the Islamic State to Afghanistan and Pakistan. By Jan. 26, 2015, the group was formally announced by Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani in an audio recording titled “Say, Die in Your Rage!” While that period still marks a time when the Islamic State had a strong presence in Syria and Iraq, its creation of Wilayat (province or governate) Khorasan falls in line with the group’s expansion projects outside of the Levant. This approach of “remaining and expanding” (baqiya wa tatamadad) as Antonio Giustozzi, author of “The Islamic State in Khorasan: Afghanistan, Pakistan and the New Central Asian Jihad,” argues, encompasses the organization’s larger strategy of domination and legitimacy over the broader jihadist movement.

According to an IS-K leader, “Khorasan” was originally meant to encompass Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Central Asia, and swaths of India and Russia. However, in reality, IS-K’s main presence is located in eastern Afghanistan.elsea Daymon Friday, August 27, 2021, 4:05 PM

Despite having “Taliban” in its name, TTP is not the Afghan Taliban but rather its own organization. It has been described as “one of Pakistan’s deadliest militant organizations,” having ties, although troubled at times, with al-Qaeda. Additionally, before 2015, the Haqqani network—a guerilla insurgent group in Afghanistan—sent hundreds of fighters to the Islamic State, many of whom returned from Syria and Iraq and joined IS-K.

The Islamic State’s recent 300th edition of its Al-Naba newsletter features an editorial titled “Finally, They Raised Mullah Bradley.” The article implies that the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan this month was part of a larger conspiracy between the Taliban and the U.S. It claims that the Taliban’s victory is false, while the Islamic State is on the true path of jihad—a powerful propaganda statement in a bid for legitimacy in the wider jihadist movement. This message is in line with past IS-K propaganda, which promotes an agenda of a global jihad in Wilayat Khorasan.

https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-islamic-state-khorasan

franco wrote:
Have seen reports that it was both US and Turkey troops opening fire after the bomb went off.

Video of interview with aid worker describing how it could have happened due to the injury types. Estimated 80 dead by shooting with 20 by bomb.

No problem listening, its at https://twitter.com/paykhar/status/1431572890521120770

Sangar | سنګر پیکار
@paykhar
·
5h
"Most victims of #KabulAirportBlast were not killed by the blast but by bullets fired at them by the Americans."

Faisal of Kabul Lovers channel interviewed aid workers at Emergency Hospital in #Kabul and this is what they have to say:

Airport control and Turkish presence in Afghanistan update

By Ragip Soylu
, Levent Kemal
in Ankara
Published date: 28 August 2021 12:08 UTC | Last update: 4 hours 15 mins ago

Turkey and Qatar will jointly operate the Kabul international airport, with Ankara providing security through a private firm, according to a draft deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan, two sources familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye (MEE) on Saturday. The draft deal will be finalised after the US withdrawal is completed next week.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still needs to approve the deal. He is expected to hold consultations on the matter with his Nato allies, chiefly the United States.

Turkey completed the withdrawal of its troops from the airport earlier this week after talks with Taliban leadership failed to produce a deal that would see Ankara continue to station soldiers in Afghanistan following the US pullout, as it had wished. For weeks, Turkey has been exploring the possibility of it providing security at Kabul airport once US troops leave.
A detailed draft deal

Erdogan said in televised remarks on Friday that the Taliban had offered Turkey the opportunity to run the airport, but continued to insist on providing security with its own fighters.

However, both sides have now cut a draft deal that could resolve the issue. The main points of the draft deal include:

Turkey recognising the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan
Turkey and Qatar operating the airport in a consortium
Ankara providing security through a private firm, whose staff will consist of former Turkish soldiers and police
That additional members of the Turkish special forces, operating in plainclothes to secure Turkish technical staff, do not leave the airport perimeter.

One outstanding issue in the way of the deal is that the former Afghan government had already awarded a contract for the airport last October to a United Arab Emirates-based consortium. The Taliban will need to cut a separate deal with them.

Multiple Taliban spokespeople refused to respond to MEE enquiries on the matter, saying that they weren’t authorised to talk to the media about the topic.

Special forces remain
Turkey continues to keep its embassy in Kabul open and hasn't evacuated the core of its diplomatic staff, including the ambassador.
There are also a number of Turkish special forces in Kabul to protect the embassy, as well as in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, for possible contingencies.

For the past few years, Turkey has been guarding Kabul airport's military section against external attacks. Earlier this summer, Ankara was close to striking a deal with the US to continue the mission, but a sweeping Taliban takeover of the country changed the circumstances dramatically.

Turkish officials previously told MEE they believe maintaining a presence in Afghanistan will help them to protect Turkish commercial and political interests in the country, including preventing a wave of refugees from entering Turkey seeking asylum in Europe. The officials said the presence of Turkish security forces at Kabul airport could continue to facilitate foreign aid and investment into the country during the transition period, and ensure relative stability in the city.


https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/afghanistan-turkey-taliban-close-deal-kabul-airport

The US still doing what the US does.

The United States has conducted a drone strike against Daesh*-Khorasan targets in retaliation for a suicide bomber attack that killed 13 US troops and over 170 civilians near Kabul airport on Thursday.

The US should've warned the Taliban* of an upcoming airstrike on Daesh-Khorasan targets, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group, told Reuters on Saturday.

According to Mujahid, the airstrikes were a "clear attack" on Afghan territory that killed two people and injured three others, including two women and a child.

He added that the Taliban expected to take full control of Kabul airport very shortly, once US forces leave, and would announce a full cabinet in the coming days.

The statement came shortly after the Pentagon confirmed that the drone strike had killed two high-profile Daesh-Khorasan targets and injured another.

According to Major General William Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Staff For Regional Operations, no civilians were wounded in the strike.

"Without specifying any future plans, I will say that we will continue to have the ability to defend ourselves and to leverage over-the-horizon capability to conduct counterterrorism operations as needed," he added.

At the same time, the Pentagon declined to say if the people targeted in the Friday strike were directly involved in the suicide bombing at Kabul airport on Thursday that resulted in the death of 13 US troops and over 170 civilians.

"They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators. That's enough reason there alone", Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby said.

A US defense official told CNN that one of the individuals was thought to be "associated with potential future attacks at the airport".

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202108281083740620-attack-on-afghan-soil-us-shouldve-informed-taliban-of-upcoming-airstrike-groups-spokesman-says/

U.S government totally clueless about Taliban and Haqqani network https://twitter.com/husainhaqqani/status/1431343699259236355?s=20

Dealing with the Taliban ? As legitimate government of Afghanistan ? No ofcourse not . Dealing with Taliban as legitimate authority in Pashtoon area , yes . But no recognition of dealing with Taliban , if outside tribal area as occupation force . All the other tribes to stay in own areas and evict invaders . I don't care who these tribes buy their guns from . The most important is that they can defend . Food aid to be distributed to all areas directly . So no tribe can use it as a weapon , like Yemen . Long term investment should be in areas bordering different tribal areas . You need to get your needle and thread out . Repairing a torn cloth .........

JohninMK wrote:The US still doing what the US does.

The United States has conducted a drone strike against Daesh*-Khorasan targets in retaliation for a suicide bomber attack that killed 13 US troops and over 170 civilians near Kabul airport on Thursday.

The US should've warned the Taliban* of an upcoming airstrike on Daesh-Khorasan targets, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the group, told Reuters on Saturday.

According to Mujahid, the airstrikes were a "clear attack" on Afghan territory that killed two people and injured three others, including two women and a child.

He added that the Taliban expected to take full control of Kabul airport very shortly, once US forces leave, and would announce a full cabinet in the coming days.

The statement came shortly after the Pentagon confirmed that the drone strike had killed two high-profile Daesh-Khorasan targets and injured another.

According to Major General William Taylor, deputy director of the Joint Staff For Regional Operations, no civilians were wounded in the strike.

"Without specifying any future plans, I will say that we will continue to have the ability to defend ourselves and to leverage over-the-horizon capability to conduct counterterrorism operations as needed," he added.

At the same time, the Pentagon declined to say if the people targeted in the Friday strike were directly involved in the suicide bombing at Kabul airport on Thursday that resulted in the death of 13 US troops and over 170 civilians.

"They were ISIS-K planners and facilitators. That's enough reason there alone", Pentagon Spokesperson John Kirby said.

A US defense official told CNN that one of the individuals was thought to be "associated with potential future attacks at the airport".

https://sputniknews.com/asia/202108281083740620-attack-on-afghan-soil-us-shouldve-informed-taliban-of-upcoming-airstrike-groups-spokesman-says/

It would be nice to know if the drone was already in Afghanistan or did it fly from base outside Afghanistan. They would have mostly likely flew over Pakistan and the Pakistani likely know, when it entered their airspace.

Afghan activist Fatima Gailani blasts Biden as 'reckless,' calls Ghani 'national traitor'

Fatima Gailani helped negotiate the initial peace agreement with the Taliban

"I’m still totally shocked because we were so close," Gailani told German outlet DW in an interview published Friday. "We were really so close to having an orderly transfer of power, and then Mr. Ghani ruined everything to rescue his money."

"His sudden departure caused what you see today."

Gailani’s accusation follows reports that Ghani embezzled $169 million in cash, which carried in duffle bags with him from the presidential palace in Kabul as he fled during the Taliban advance on Kabul on Aug. 15.

She does not blame Ghani alone, though: Gailani has also pointed to Biden’s action as "very, very reckless."

In his immediate comments following the Taliban advance into Kabul, Biden claimed in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos that there was no way to leave Afghanistan "without chaos ensuing" – a comment that many have criticized.

However, Gailani does not seem to agree: She pointed to the months of negotiations and the final peace agreement, which she believes has not been upheld.

"As much as we blame Ashraf Ghani, and I openly call him a national traitor, I would also tell Biden that this is "And I want you to please publish this," She added. "I didn't want any foreign soldiers to stay in Afghanistan. What I wanted was: peace first. So first secure peace, and then go wherever you want to go. When we talked about foreign forces leaving orderly, we didn't mean that we wanted NATO's soldiers to stay for the rest of their lives. No!"

"You made a contract with the Taliban in Doha, and a political settlement was part of it. But where is this political settlement? Where is it?"

https://www.foxnews.com/world/fatima-gailani-bidens-reckless-ghani-traitor

Fathers of Marines killed in Kabul attack rage against Biden, brass

The fathers of two Marines killed in Thursday’s suicide attack at Kabul’s airport have expressed outrage at the U.S. government’s handling of the withdrawal of American forces, with one claiming President Biden "turned his back" on his murdered son.

"They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the Taliban outside providing security," Steve Nikoui, the father of Kareem Nikoui, told The Daily Beast. "I blame my own military leaders. … Biden turned his back on him. That’s it."
But Nikoui told Fox News’ "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Friday that his son "had voiced some worry to the family" about the situation in Afghanistan and admitted that "the way that the Taliban had pretty much infiltrated the whole country so fast, and we were just kind of, it seemed, left to just this one little airport, really concerned me."
Nikoui went on to compare the area of the airport Kareem and his colleagues were patrolling to a "turkey shoot."

In Missouri, the father of 20-year-old Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz told radio station KMOX Friday he was "incredibly devastated" by his son’s death.
Mark Schmitz said that his son, who had been sent to Afghanistan from Jordan in recent weeks, had always wanted to become a Marine.

"I have never seen a young man train as hard as he did to be the best soldier he could be," he said. "And that’s a big part of, obviously, why we’re all devastated and sad, but there’s so much anger right now because he wasn’t even given that opportunity to demonstrate all the skills he had perfected and learned while in the Corps."

"He took his job very seriously," Mark Schmitz said of his son. "And somebody just came along and took the easy way out and ended everything for him and for us, and for those others that were killed."

When asked if he had a message for Americans grieving his family’s loss, Schmitz responded: "Be afraid of our leadership, or lack thereof. Pray every day for the soldiers that are putting their lives at risk and doing what they love, which is protecting all of us. I think they’re the only ones that we can honestly say have our backs."

https://www.foxnews.com/world/fathers-marines-kabul-rage-biden

Back to Obama's drones.

U.S. starts troop withdrawal from Kabul; hits Islamic State with drone attack

After Thursday's blast that killed scores of Afghans and 13 American troops, the most lethal incident for U.S. service members in Afghanistan in a decade, Biden vowed to hunt down the perpetrators. He said Friday's strike was not the last.

"We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay," he said.

In the Pentagon's strike on militant suspects in Nangarhar, a U.S. official said on Friday that an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft flown from the Middle East targeted an Islamic State militant who was planning attacks and was in a car with an associate.

Residents of Jalalabad, the provincial capital, said they had heard several explosions around midnight and community elder Malik Adib said three people were killed and four were wounded in an air strike, adding that he had been summoned by the Taliban investigating the incident.

"Women and children are among the victims," said Adib, though he did not have information about their identity.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-launches-drone-strike-islamic-state-after-afghan-airport-blast-2021-08-28/?fbclid=IwAR0OOM3Pu2GAmwOfCd3N8e7Ufmxf76JYV0nmPBG53yxvJsdPQFDtCmRN8ec

Not a fan of Taliban, but it's poetic justice.

Everyone should get their snouts out from Afghanistan.

Taliban is most organised movement there - may they have it and let them deal with it.

If there was significant resistance - they wouldn't have rolled in. Taliban will deal with ISIS, they will bring medieval stability in their lands and I couldn't give a damn what happens in their own lands. As long as they are non-interventionist - no other country will suffer.

Biden promises more strikes against ISIL-affiliate in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, the Taliban condemns the US drone strike on ISKP, describing the operation as a ‘clear attack on Afghan territory’.
More than 5,000 people remained inside Kabul airport awaiting evacuation on Saturday.

There are no longer crowds of thousands around the airport’s perimeter hoping to be let through and allowed onto a plane as the Taliban has sealed off roads leading to the airport and is only letting sanctioned buses pass.


“We have lists from the Americans … if your name is on the list, you can come through,” one Taliban official told the AFP news agency near the civilian passenger terminal.

Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Kabul, said that since Friday evening, the US military has been pulling back its forces and giving up its guard posts to the Taliban on the outer perimeter of Kabul airport and in some positions inside the airport before the final withdrawal of its troops by August 31.

“You do get a sense this Saturday evening here in Kabul that this long, drawn-out, often chaotic and traumatic evacuation process [is] finally in the end game,” he said.

Racing to meet the Tuesday withdrawal deadline has required close US cooperation with the Taliban on evacuee movements and the ISKP threat.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/28/us-says-drone-strike-killed-two-iskp-targets-in-afghanistan

The threat of ISKP in Afghanistan has been underestimated

The Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate could derail Taliban efforts to establish security and stable rule.

On August 26, two suicide bombers killed 72 Afghans and 13 members of the US military at Kabul airport amid evacuation efforts. The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghanistan affiliate of ISIL (ISIS), claimed responsibility for the brutal attack and thus put itself in the international media spotlight.

Although foreign media started paying attention to this group only now, ISKP has been terrorising Afghans since 2015 and it will continue to do so after the August 31 withdrawal of US troops.

There are two aspects of this attack that need to be considered. First, ISKP attacked the airport primarily to discredit its rival, the Taliban, in yet another escalation of the larger conflict between Sunni extremist armed groups. Second, ISKP made it clear that the Taliban will find it hard to keep its promises to ensure the safety and security of civilians, especially women and minorities under its rule.

A conflict between Sunni non-state actors
The emergence of ISIL, the umbrella organisation that includes ISKP, has often been attributed to sectarian dynamics and Sunni-Shia conflicts from the Arab world to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The problem with blaming violent conflict in this region on tensions between the two sects is that it ignores how the armed group has had a long, bloody legacy of stoking intra-Sunni conflict.

ISIL was formed by defectors from al-Qaeda in 2014 in Syria who then attacked their parent organisation and its Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra. ISKP was formed primarily by defectors from the Taliban in both Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2015, who then went on to attack the Afghan branch. In both cases, the defectors considered their former organisations not extreme enough or not committed enough to attack fellow Sunnis, who they considered deviants, or Shia Muslims.
Essentially the conflict between ISIL and its affiliates on one hand, and al-Qaeda and the Taliban on the other, represents an oft-ignored intra-Sunni conflict among extremist groups. Both Syria and Afghanistan are zones of insecurity that have allowed the formation of multiple extremist non-state actors, essentially religious warlords. Since these non-state actors are so close ideologically, their legitimacy is threatened as long as the other rival exists, and thus must be eliminated immediately. Defeating their violent competitors delivers the benefits of monopolising the jihadist narrative as well as gaining new recruits.

This is the conflict ISKP is gearing up for with the Taliban, as the US withdraws. While ISKP numbers have dwindled to 2,000, it can still challenge the legitimacy of the estimated 60,000-strong Taliban. With its forces spread thin across Afghanistan, the Taliban would be particularly vulnerable to violent terror tactics by its splinter.

As for the US, the bloody attack on August 26 will compel the Biden administration to retaliate, which would ultimately complicate the plans for a full military withdrawal and potentially even harm relations with the Taliban itself.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/8/27/the-threat-of-iskp-in-afghanistan-has-been-underestimated

Panjshir Observer
@PanjshirObserv
·
16h
Taliban violates ceasefire with Resistance Front, resulting in heavy casualties for the Taliban. Reports say attack was on the borders of Panjshir province, prompting Resistance Front to launch a counter-attack and forcing the Taliban to pull back.


Panjshir Observer
@PanjshirObserv
·
15h
Heavy ongoing clashes between Taliban and Resistance forces reported at:
- Sanjan, Kapisa province.
- Khost Wa Fereng, Baghlan province.

Heavy Taliban causalities in Kapisa province, situation is still developing and unclear elsewhere so far.




Panjshir Observer
@PanjshirObserv
·
10h
Taliban fighters from multiple locations heading to Panjshir province and are 'awaiting next orders'. This comes after heavy fighting between Taliban and Resistance in bordering Kapisa province resulted in heavy Taliban casualties.

Panjshir Observer
@PanjshirObserv
·
Aug 23
Tajikistan becomes first country to start supplying Resistance Forces in Panjshir. Deliveries include helicopters, weapons, ammunition and food

The US Embassy orders everyone to leave Kabul airport immediately because of a 'specific, credible' threat as Biden vows that his fatal strike in retaliation for Kabul suicide blast that left 13 US troops dead will 'not be the last'
The US Embassy ordered everyone to leave Kabul airport immediately Saturday night because of a 'specific, credible' threat
Biden has said that commanders informed him an attack is 'highly likely' in the next 24-36 hours
It follows the US drone strike on ISIS-K in revenge for the suicide blast in Kabul that killed 13 US

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said US should have warned the group before strike on ISIS-K
However he later said that his words had been 'distorted' and urged the media to disregard them


Taliban has now effectively sealed off the Kabul airport, making escape for anyone outside unlikely
Most NATO nations have now flown out their troops after two decades in Afghanistan
US troops now turn their focus to removing equipment and ending their presence at the airport

The Taliban condemned the US drone strike, with a spokesman describing the operation as a 'clear attack on Afghan territory'.

'The Americans should have informed us before conducting the airstrike,' spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters on Saturday.

However, Mujahid later took to Twitter to disavow the interview, writing: 'Reuters has interviewed me and distorted my words. I urge the media and journalists not to take these words seriously.'

Mujahid claimed that two women and a child were wounded in the drone strike. The Pentagon says it is not aware of any civilian casualties.
Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesman said on Saturday they would announce a new government for Afghanistan in the coming week.

He appealed to the United States and other Western nations to maintain diplomatic relations after their withdrawal, which he expected would be completed 'very soon'.

Taliban forces were holding some positions within the airport, ready to peacefully take control as American forces fly out, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

The Pentagon stressed Friday that the Taliban, who now run Afghanistan, were not in control of any operations at the airport.

Areas where large crowds had gathered over the past two weeks in the hopes of fleeing the country were largely empty.

On Saturday, the Taliban fired warning shots and deployed some kind of colored smoke on a road leading to the airport, sending dozens of people scattering, according to a video circulating online that was consistent with AP reporting.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9935805/Pentagon-says-two-ISIS-K-targets-killed-one-wounded-drone-strike.html

History repeats itself there:




https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/justification-bombing-afghanistan.html

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/afghanistan-falls-middle.html

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/taliban-crucial-understanding.html

https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2021-08-26/1_1155_afganistan.html?print=Y

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/taliban-religious-ideology.html

https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2021-08-19/10_1154_afganistan.html?print=Y

https://nvo.ng.ru/gpolit/2021-08-05/10_1152_perspectives.html?print=Y

 there r reports they already using an Mi-17 & a UH-60 to ferry troops & supplies.













https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/afghanistan-latest-delusion.html

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/departure-afghanistan-taliban.html

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/republican-presidents-impeached.html

https://www.juancole.com/2021/08/biden-right-afghanistan.html

https://fpif.org/not-everyone-wanted-war-in-afghanistan-we-should-listen-to-those-critics-now/

Lee Camp pretty much says it all...

@ GarreyB


"....They are hardly going to take over control and allow civilians to have military weapons similar to theirs... I mean obviously US forces didn't let German and Japanese civilians own military weapons after the surrender...."

But the Taliban are strictly speaking civilians also . They do not form what we can call an army of a nation , under national command . If you look at the resistance front video , they clearly can be seen shouting slogans for Afghanistan . But the Taliban carry a religious flag of their own tribe . And comparing Taliban with US occupation forces is not correct . A parallel would be the sectarian and tribal wars in ME . In all these situations , peace is achievable if tribal boundaries are kept . And no side is empowered or encouraged to transgress these . Like Yemen , where Saudi excessive interference , threatens the safety of other tribes . No tribal side should possess offensive capability of weapons . But they should all possess defensive light arms . This simple act in itself will deny any tribal side a real or imagined advantage of prolong a tribal war .

"..The key is that when law abiding citizens stop walking around with military weapons it makes it much more obvious and easy to find insurgents and enemies..."

There are no law abiding citizens as such . Since there are no laws . No national laws . Only tribal affiliations . I know that Russia or Iran or China may want to open relations with Taliban . And that is fine , within the context of their rule in Pashtoon areas . Left unrestrained , they will cause a tribal conflict and great instability in Afghanistan and refugee crisis in the region .

"......The reality is that if they want to they can choose to murder anyone they like... it is their country......"

It is not their country . They have only minority support from even Pashtoon tribal areas . Their core support is from Pakistan Pashtoon area and Pakistan . Their murder will create extremism and war and refugees . Knocking at the doors of a Russian train station near you .

".....There were no consequences for most murders perpetrated by western forces in Afghanistan... why should it be any different for a local doing the killing?....."

True . There were no consequences , because there could be none . But Taliban are not US forces . There will be consequences , because there can be . Maybe not by Russia or China or Iran . But other tribes who will resist their murder .