Afghanistan - 26th August 2021

Summary for Thursday, 26th August 2021

• Western countries warn of a terrorist attack on Kabul airport in Afghanistan where thousands are gathered
  
• UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey tells BBC the threat is "severe"
  
• There are no details of the threat, thought to be from so-called Islamic State militants
  
• The warning comes as efforts to evacuate people seeking to flee the country enter their final phase
  
• So far, more than 80,000 people have been flown out - with more than 10,000 currently awaiting at Kabul airport
  
• Up to 1,500 Americans may still need evacuating from the airport, which is controlled by US troops
  
• Westerners and Afghans who worked for foreign missions want to leave after Taliban militants came back to power
  
• The US aims to complete the evacuation - and US troop pull-out - by a 31 August deadline agreed with the Taliban
  
• There are fears thousands of Afghans who wish to flee may be left behind
  

Welcome to our live coverage

Welcome back. We are resuming our live coverage of events in Afghanistan. Please stay with us for all the latest on this dramatic and fast-changing story. Here's a quick recap on the key developments in the past 24 hours:

• A number of nations are warning there is a high threat of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport and are urging their citizens not to travel there
  
• The warning comes as people rush to leave the country before 31 August, the deadline set by President Joe Biden for a full withdrawal of US troops
  
• The US says more than 10,000 people are at the airport still waiting to be flown out
  
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Taliban have agreed to allow Americans and "at-risk" Afghan nationals to leave after 31 August
  
• The Wall Street Journal reports that the CIA and US military are now conducting clandestine helicopter operations to evacuate Americans from the country. The US is trying to reach some 1,500 US nationals in the country.
  

Which countries are welcoming fleeing Afghans?

So Taliban militants are now back in control of Afghanistan, almost two decades after they were ousted by a US-led coalition.
And thousands of people who worked with the foreign troops, diplomatic missions, aid organisations - or those who went to Afghanistan to set up businesses - are now choosing to leave the country, fearing reprisals by the new rulers.
The surge in numbers trying to leave comes on top of the 2.2 million Afghan refugees already in neighbouring countries and 3.5 million people forced to flee their homes within Afghanistan's borders.
So where are the new evacuees leaving from and heading to?

Thousands on land borders, too

Yogita Limaye - Mumbai correspondent, BBC News
A huge crowd of people who want to leave Afghanistan has built up near a land border with Pakistan. So far, on the Afghan side, there are no reports that citizens are being stopped from departing.
Carrying just a few belongings, whole families are hoping to cross over to Pakistan, fleeing Taliban rule. Crowds have been building up at Spin Boldak border crossing. The gates are open and some people are making it through.
It’s unclear right now what the situation is at land borders with other countries.
Since the Taliban announced earlier this week that women were being asked not to go to work because of security reasons, the BBC has spoken to female workers in Afghanistan who say they now want to leave the country. They said they had hoped to be able to continue with their jobs, but don’t now believe this will be allowed.

Taliban to allow at-risk people to leave after 31 August - US

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the Taliban had made a commitment to allow US citizens and at-risk Afghans to leave the country after 31 August evacuation deadline. He stressed that US efforts to help people who wanted to leave would not end on that date.
The secretary of state said that the US administration was making exhaustive efforts to trace those Americans still in Afghanistan.

 

UK minister: 'Credible reporting of imminent attack' at Kabul airport

UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey says the threat of terrorist attack which has prompted Western countries to issue a warning to people outside Kabul airport is “very credible".
Heappey told the Today Programme it was intelligence reporting "of an imminent attack” - and described the threat as severe.

UK minister: 'We won't get everyone out' before 31 August

British troops have flown out nearly 2,000 people on eight flights in the past 24 hours and are planning a further 11 flights on Thursday, UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said.
He said 12,279 people had been flown out in the past week, but admitted "there will be people who are in danger who won’t be evacuated" before the 31 August deadline.

Who are IS-K?

BBC Monitoring
There are currently no details about the terrorist threat which has prompted Western countries to warn people away from Kabul international airport. However, in the past few days, there have been persistent reports that the so called Islamic State Khorasan Province are believed to have infiltrated Kabul.
Who are they?
Islamic State group operates in Afghanistan under the name of Khorasan Province (ISKP).
Khorasan refers to a historical region covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
ISKP was announced in January 2015 and is reportedly primarily made up of former members of the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban.
It is far more hardline than the Afghan Taliban, and the two are sworn enemies. The group considers Taliban militants “apostates”, making their killing lawful under their interpretation of Islamic law.
IS condemned the 29 February 2020 peace agreement between the US and the Taliban in Afghanistan, vowing to continue to fight.
It also dismissed the recent Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, saying the US handed them the country as part of a secret deal.
ISKP suffered major military defeats in late 2019 and the capture of senior leaders in April 2020.
Since then, however, it bounced back, claiming responsibility for scores of attacks in a surge of violence that came while peace talks between the Taliban and the government had been taking place.
ISKP initially included Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, in May 2019, IS declared a separate new “Pakistan Province”.
ISKP also claimed responsibility for an attack in Iran in September 2018.
Since its establishment, ISKP has said it has carried out regular deadly attacks across Afghanistan. It has been mostly active in the eastern province of Nangarharand in the capital Kabul, but it has also claimed attacks in the provinces of Kunar, Jowzjan, Paktia, Kunduz and Herat.
ISKP has targeted Afghan security forces, Afghan politicians and ministries, the Taliban, religious minorities including Shia Muslims and Sikhs, US and Nato forces, and international agencies including aid organisations.

France to stop evacuations by Friday evening

France will stop evacuating people from Afghanistan from Friday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castex has told France's RTL radio.
On Wednesday, Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari told local media that 115 French citizens and 2,000 Afghans had been repatriated to France. He said "a few dozen French" were yet to be evacuated.

Taliban being pressured to keep airport open after 31 August

The Taliban is being urged to “facilitate safe passage” for Afghans wishing to leave after 31 August, either through the airports or via land borders, UK Armed Forces Minister James Heappey says.
He said neighbouring countries and the international community are “putting pressure on the Taliban to not close their borders and to not deny Afghans who are fearful for their lives the opportunity to leave the country”.
Heappey said he was hopeful the Taliban would agree to this because “they don’t want to be an international pariah. They have a network internationally, they have people around the region with whom they have relationships.
“It feels to me as if they would want to have that connectivity from Kabul. Now the key issue is how they control access for the average Afghan to the airport and to flights.”

US involvement doesn't end on 31 August: Top diplomat

A top US diplomat has said that his country's involvement in Afghanistan "isn't going to end" on 31 August, the evacuation deadline Joe Biden has set.
Ross Wilson, the acting US ambassador to Afghanistan, told CBS News that America's commitment to its citizens and Afghan staff will continue "with the Taliban and whatever form of government this country takes."
Mr Wilson also said the US government had been issuing repeated warnings for months telling Americans to leave Afghanistan "immediately", each message in stronger terms.
"Never in my 40 years of working at the state department have I seen such strong language used," he said.
"People chose not to leave, that’s their business, that’s their right. We regret now that many might find themselves in a position that they would rather not be in, and we are determined to try to help them."

Distressing scenes at Kabul airport

Secunder Kermani - BBC News, Kabul
It's incredible and very distressing to see huge numbers of people still turning up to the airport. Whole families, old women sitting in wheelbarrows because they are unable to walk, young children being carried by their parents. Just an endless stream walking through the filth, the dust, the heat. At times, they're facing gunshots.
A large number of them have no realistic chance of boarding the evacuation flights because they just don't have the right paperwork, making it even more difficult for the handful that do have the right paperwork or are foreign citizens to push their way through the crowd.
I was speaking to one elderly woman yesterday, her son was a former interpreter for the US Army. They had all been told to go to the airport but they'd spent six days and six nights living in awful conditions in a kind of make shift camp.
I asked her, given all of this, isn't it worth just sticking it out in Afghanistan and seeing how things go? She said: "We just don't have that option. The Americans should shoot us or they should let us through - but we are not staying here."
Any information about the threat from IS-K or warnings about potential attacks from suicide bombers takes a long time to filter down to those people making their way to the airport - and they're so desperate that their priority is just to find some way out.

Pakistan urges West to engage with Taliban to avoid refugee crisis

The international community must engage with the Taliban in order to avoid a humanitarian and refugee crisis in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s national security adviser has said.
Dr Moeed Yusuf said “there isn’t actually any panic on the borders” with Pakistan, despite reports of thousands of people gathering at the Spin Boldak land crossing.
“So far the blessing in disguise is there hasn’t been a protracted conflict and bloodshed, so the refugee influx... actually has not come,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.
He said another humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was not inevitable, but only if the international community "learn from the mistakes of the past” and do not create a security vacuum by “abandoning” ordinary Afghans.
“There is a reality on the ground. The Taliban are in control,” he said. “We must keep them honest to their promises, but engage for the sake of the average Afghans. Otherwise we will end up in the same place. It wasn’t good last time.”

Terror threat has existed 'since evacuation began' - ex-army chief

The threat of a terrorist attack at Kabul airport "has existed right the way from when this evacuation began", says a former head of British forces in Afghanistan.
Colonel Richard Kemp told the BBC: "That threat of terrorist attack, whether it's from Taliban, the Islamic State, or al-Qaeda, it could equally be all three of those groups.
"The fact that people are talking about Islamic State doesn't make that the most likely threat.
"I think that threat has existed right the way from when this evacuation began, and I have no doubt that our forces are fully aware of the threat and already, for days now, have been taking measures to try and mitigate it, to prevent something like that happening.
"But, clearly, there could be a terrorist attack of some sort against the forces in the airport, maybe forces outside the airport, and of course the people trying to get in."

Tolo News: Reporter and cameraman beaten by Taliban

The Afghan news channel Tolo says its reporter and cameraman were beaten by the Taliban while covering a story about the rise in unemployed people in Kabul.
Ziar Yaad and Baes Majidi were filming footage of jobless people and labourers in the Shahr-e-New area of the capital when the Taliban beat them “for unclear reasons”, Tolo said.
“We showed our reporter badges but they came and slapped us and beat us with their guns,” Ziar Yaad said. “They took my mobile and our work equipment with them.”
Several journalists have been beaten since the Taliban took control of the country earlier this month, Tolo reports.
The channel quotes Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, as saying they took the incident with Yaad and Majidi seriously and would investigate.
“Not only this, but we will also investigate and solve any issues in the way of the journalists,” he is quoted as saying.

South Korea amends visa laws to welcome 380 Afghan refugees

Laura Bicker - BBC News
South Korea will amend its visa laws to accommodate around 380 Afghan people who are arriving in the country.
The evacuees, who worked for the South Korean government in Afghanistan in the embassy, in hospitals and in various humanitarian roles, will be given a special type of permit to allow them to stay and find jobs.
It’s rare for the East Asian country to accept refugees unless they are from North Korea. A number of online sites have sprung up criticising the government for accommodating the Afghan families.
But the justice ministry has tried to emphasise the service these evacuees have given the country and called on people to have an "accepting heart".
“These people are basically our neighbours despite the distance. How can we abandon them when they are facing danger for working for us?” pleaded Minister Park Beom-kye.
The evacuees from Afghanistan will be given tests for Covid-19 and taken to temporary housing south of Seoul to quarantine.
The group includes around 100 infants, including three babies born this month. The families will be given help to adjust to their new life in South Korea, including language lessons.

'Very dark times for humanitarian aid sector'

Today Programme - BBC Radio 4
There is a "desperate situation for humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan", says the UK's former foreign secretary David Miliband.
Miliband, now chief executive of humanitarian committee the International Rescue Committee, says there is the visible crisis we can see around Kabul airport where people want to leave and are very fearful for their own future.
But there is also an invisible crisis of tens of millions of Afghans who need aid but who are desperately worried that the military withdrawal on 31 August will not just mean the end of the possibility for people to leave but also signal the withdrawal of humanitarian, diplomatic and political aid.
"That will leave them at the mercy of not just political events but of a collapsing economy, of Covid running rampant and drought in 80% of the country so these are very dark times for the humanitarian sector," he says.
The recent fighting has added about 550,000 internal refugees who have been displaced in their own country and the borders are sealed to the neighbouring states, he says.
Miliband says Pakistan already has two million refugees from Afghanistan.
"You can see the Pakistani point of view they are worried that they can accept another 500,000 or million and the rest of the world will just breathe a sigh of relief and not help them," he says.

Empty plane takes off from Kabul

This photo of a near empty plane leaving Kabul is being widely shared on Twitter:

As CNN's Alexander Marquardt says in his tweet, the plane is one of three chartered by George and Maria Abi-Habib, co-founders of the Washington-based development firm, Sayara International, which has long worked in Afghanistan.
Mr Abi-Habib is quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying the plane had been chartered to take Afghans to Uganda, but encountered obstacles at Kabul airport. US marines manning the gates refused to allow Afghans with seats on the plane to get inside; one Ugandan woman crawled through a sewage pipe to get into the airport, Mr Abi-Habib told the Journal.
He said that, after days of trying unsuccessfully to resolve the issues, the 345-seat plane had to fly out of Kabul with just 50 passengers. "We can't expect everyone to crawl through a sewer pipe to safety," he said. "The window is closing."
The Wall Street Journal reports that a similar thing happened to a charter flight bound for Ukraine. Some 40 vulnerable Afghan women scheduled to take the flight were refused entry into the airport by US marines. After two days, the 240-seat plane took off with 70 empty seats, Stacia George of the Carter Center is quoted as saying.

Analysis: Concern over suicide attacks

Paul Adams - BBC diplomatic correspondent
The Foreign Office has previously warned against all travel to Afghanistan, and cited the possibility of terrorist attacks.
But the new advice is very specific. Do not travel to Kabul airport. If you're in the area, move away to a safe location and wait for further advice.
Officials won't elaborate on the nature of the threat, but this change comes just 24 hours after US President Joe Biden warned of the danger posed by extremists linked to the group calling itself Islamic State.
Commanders dealing with vast crowds around the airport are increasingly concerned about the possibility of suicide attacks.
What the new advice means for the British evacuation operation is not clear.

Final flights for several European countries

As the security situation around Kabul airport deteriorates, Belgium and Denmark have completed their last evacuation flights and Dutch flights are also coming to an end today. The Dutch government says it has been told by the US they have to leave.
Germany hasn't confirmed its plans but several reports say today's four flights out could be the last, before the German military is largely flown out tomorrow. This is video of one of the final German planes leaving a base in Uzbekistan for Kabul this morning:

French PM Jean Castex said on national radio this morning that the last plane would leave tomorrow evening - after that "we can't go on with evacuations from the airport at Kabul", he told RTL radio.
Belgian PM Alexander De Croo said the last Belgian plane out of Kabul reached Islamabad at 21:30 Pakistan time last night. The decision was taken, he said, because "the situation deteriorated very significantly during the day" and Belgian authorities had got word of the threat of a suicide bombing.
Dutch TV has shown pictures of a harrowing moment on a bus carrying evacuees outside the airport. Seven people who didn't have Dutch passports were "manhandled off the bus" by the Taliban, a source told the Nieuwsuur programme. The bus was one of three carrying 120 people - it took 24 hours for the buses to be allowed into the airport.

UK minister: There could be a highly lethal terror attack within hours

We've got more from UK Armed Forces minister who says there could be an "imminent, highly lethal" terror attack at Kabul airport within hours.
The Foreign Office last night issued new guidance telling anyone near the airport to "move away to a safe location and await further advice".
James Heappey earlier told the BBC: "There is now very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack."
He later told us: "The credibility of the reporting has now reached the stage where we believe that there is a very imminent, highly lethal attack possible within Kabul."
Asked by Sky News whether an attack could occur in the coming few hours, Mr Heappey replied: "Yes."
Stressing the "severe" nature of the threat, he told the BBC that it had created an "extraordinarily challenging situation, both on the ground and as a set of decisions to be taken in Whitehall".
"People are desperate, people are fearing for their lives anyway, and so I think there's an appetite among many in the queue to take their chances," he said.

• There's more on this story here.
  

'A state of horror and shock': Scenes at the Pakistan border

Shumaila Jaffery - BBC News


I'm at the Spin Boldak crossing on Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. This is usually one of the busiest points on the border, but today there are thousands of people attempting to cross.
Some refugees told us that they were leaving because business was bad, some said they were students who were worried about their education under the Taliban.
But many, particularly those from the Northern district, said they were fleeing because feared for their lives.
Many people here have relatives, friends and family in Pakistan. Some also have their own homes in the country. If they can cross, they will disperse to different cities.
We also met a son of an ex-Afghan soldier, who told us that despite the Taliban’s promises of an amnesty, he felt he couldn’t risk staying.
Some refugees from the minority Hazara community said that they were let in without proper travel documents, on humanitarian grounds.
"The Taliban is hard on us, life is not good now. That's why we left our homes to come here,” said one Hazara woman. “We were in state of horror and shock when we left our houses.”
“There is no place to sit or live here at the border,” she added. “They should set up some camps for us. The situation was good during the previous government, now we have no option but to leave.”

Afghanistan's brain drain: Kabul's 'Banksy' and top TV host flee

Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary has told the BBC that the plane he was evacuated in was also transporting a popular female TV presenter and "Afghanistan's Banksy - an artist who was painting a lot of powerful messages, from anti-corruption to peace, on the streets of Kabul".
It's part of the so-called "brain drain" of Afghanistan, referring to the sudden departure of many educated and professional Afghans.
"Afghanistan is a country where educated people don’t grow on trees," Mr Sarwary told BBC World News TV. "This was the 20 years of massive international investment as well as a commitment from Afghans, and now all of it is down the drain.”
Mr Sarwary said the journey to Kabul airport with his wife, baby daughter and elderly parents was "the most painful journey" as they negotiated their way past Taliban checkpoints.
"I am the lucky one, and I am very grateful, because thousands of Afghans, including our friends, are still in hiding. They fear making the journey into the airport, past the Taliban."
Now in Doha, he said having to leave Afghanistan was "unbelievably heartbreaking".
"This is a city that I call home, a city that I loved, and I knew it inch by inch, but suddenly nowhere was safe."
Read more of Bilal Sarwary's story here.

Music is forbidden, says Taliban spokesman

Once again, music will not be allowed under the new Taliban rule, the spokesman for the militant group has said.
Zabihullah Mujahid told the New York Times that “music is forbidden in Islam... but we’re hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them".
Under the Taliban in the 1990s, most music, television and cinema was strictly forbidden, and breaking the rules could get you into serious trouble.

• Who are the Taliban?
  

After the militants were removed from power, the country's music scene flourished - concerts and festivals took place and the Afghanistan National Institute of Music was launched and celebrated. It featured an all-female orchestra that performed nationally and abroad.
Mr Mujahid also told the New York Times that concerns for women's safety were "baseless". He said women will not have to stay in the house or always cover their faces, and that the requirement that women be accompanied by a male guardian only applies to journeys of three days or longer. He also said women would eventually be able to return to their daily routines.
On Tuesday, Mr Mujahid warned women to stay at home until proper systems are in place to ensure their protection, because some Taliban fighters have not been trained not to hurt or harass them.
“We are worried our forces who are new and have not been yet trained very well may mistreat women,” Mr Mujahid said.

The latest from Afghanistan

Crowds of people wait outside Kabul airport.

If you're just joining us, here are some of the top stories out of Afghanistan so far today:

• Fears are growing among Western nations of an imminent attack on Kabul airport from the militant group ISIS-K, with UK Defence Minister James Heappey telling the BBC there was "now very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack"
  
• Huge crowds of people fleeing Taliban rule have built up at Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Gates at the Spin Boldak border crossing are open, and some people are making it through
  
• The Taliban's spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, has told the New York Times playing music in public will be banned, but women undertaking trips of less than three days will not have to be accompanied by a man
  
• The Afghan news channel Tolo says its reporter and cameraman were beaten by the Taliban while covering a story about the rise in unemployed people in the capital, Kabul
  
• And several European countries are to end their operations at Kabul airport
  

Qatar offers coronavirus vaccines to Afghan evacuees

Qatar says it will offer coronavirus vaccinations to all evacuees from Afghanistan who are temporarily staying in the Gulf state.
The foreign ministry said Qatar, which hosts the largest US military base in the region, had already helped evacuate more than 40,000 people to its capital Doha, with many transiting on to other countries.
Qatar has agreed with the US to temporarily host 8,000 Afghan nationals, Reuters reports. The foreign ministry said it was accommodating a “large number” of mostly “students, families and journalists”.
“Those who do not immediately transit to other countries are being provided with a PCR test and Covid-19 vaccine, if requested,” the statement said.

Many eligible for evacuation will be left behind, official says

An Afghan government official has warned that many citizens eligible to be transferred from the country under the US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) scheme may be left behind.
Mariam Solaimankhil shared a tweet that suggested hundreds of people with the correct paperwork were unable to reach Kabul airport.

Almost 100,000 people now evacuated from Afghanistan

Roughly 13,400 people were airlifted out of Afghanistan on Wednesday, the White House has said.
It raises the total number of those evacuated by the U.S. and its coalition partners to about 95,700 since 14 August.
Meanwhile, more than 14,500 evacuees from Afghanistan have landed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the largest US Air Force facility outside of America.
Last night US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that despite the pace of the airlift, the State Department estimated that as many as 1,500 US citizens could still remain on the ground in Afghanistan.

'Banksy of Kabul' evacuated

Omaid Sharifi, the founder of arts organisation ArtLords, fled Afghanistan with his family earlier this week, he has confirmed to the BBC.
Sharifi ran workshops in Kabul helping fellow artists to create murals and street art on the city's walls - often with messages of peace and anti-corruption. They were collectively nicknamed the "Banksy of Kabul" in reference to the elusive English-based street artist.
Sharifi told the BBC the children of Afghanistan have been let down.
"The whole world failed them, because we gave them hope. We thought that they could go to school, they could go to university, they could get elected, they could do whatever they choose to, but that is not the case."

Why Afghanistan's economy is in crisis

Ashitha Nagesh - BBC News, London
The Taliban are in control of Afghanistan for the first time in 20 years. But while they no longer have any military opposition, they now face an economy on the brink of collapse, which threatens to worsen an already devastating humanitarian crisis.
When the militant group seized power on 15 August, Afghanistan's internal banking system essentially fell apart.
The economy was already extremely fragile, heavily dependent on aid. A nation is considered aid-dependent when 10% or more of its GDP comes from foreign aid; in Afghanistan's case, about 40% of its GDP was international aid, according to the World Bank.
When it became clear that the Taliban would gain control of Kabul, Western powers, including the US and Germany, stopped sending foreign aid to the country. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also since halted payments.

• Read more: What will happen to Afghanistan's economy?
  

Canada latest country to end evacuation flights

There have been warnings of a terrorist attack on Kabul airport in Afghanistan, where thousands of people are gathered

Canada says it too has ended its operations to evacuate people from Kabul airport.
As we mentioned earlier, many European countries are bringing their operations to a close, with security deteriorating ahead of the 31 August deadline set by the US.
"We stayed in Afghanistan as long as we could," Canada's Gen Wayne Eyre told reporters today.
"We wish we could have stayed longer and rescued everyone," he added.
Belgium and Denmark have completed their last evacuation flights and Dutch flights are also coming to an end today.
France has said its last plane will leave tomorrow evening.

 

Shots fired at Italian plane leaving Kabul airport

Gunshots have been fired in the direction of an Italian military plane taking off from Kabul airport.
It is not clear who fired the shots or why.
No damage has been reported following the incident, Reuters news agency says, citing military sources.

Rescue efforts to continue until deadline, says US

Efforts to evacuate people from Kabul airport will continue until the deadline of 31 August, the US says.
The Pentagon rejected suggestions that the US may be preparing to end evacuations by the weekend.
"Evacuation operations in Kabul will not be wrapping up in 36 hours," spokesman for the US Defense Department, John Kirby, said.
"We will continue to evacuate as many people as we can until the end of the mission."
Canada and several European countries have said they have ended or are ending evacuations early.

'I'm watching Afghanistan burn from afar'

The Taliban's announcement that it will reimpose Sharia or Islamic law has millions of young Afghans concerned about their future.
These young people grew up with considerable freedom compared to their parents. But they fear that all of that could easily be reversed under the Taliban.

• What is Sharia law and what does it mean for women?
  

Hundreds of Afghan students and other refugees from the country live in India - and they are anxious about what the future holds for them and their families back home.
They tell the BBC's Anshul Verma about how helpless and frustrated they feel watching their country suffer from afar.

14:52

Explosion at Kabul airport

There has been an explosion outside Kabul airport, the Pentagon has confirmed.
It is not yet clear whether there have been casualties.


 

Biden briefed on explosion at Kabul airport

Details of the explosion at Kabul airport remain unclear. There have been some reports of gunfire on the ground.
The explosion has occurred at the Abbey gate entrance where British troops have been stationed in recent days. It was one of three gates that had been closed followings warnings of a terrorist threat.
A US official has told Reuters news agency the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.
The White House has confirmed that President Biden has been briefed on developments.

Biden briefed on explosion at Kabul airport

Details of the explosion at Kabul airport remain unclear. There have been some reports of gunfire on the ground.
The explosion has occurred at the Abbey gate entrance where British troops have been stationed in recent days. It was one of three gates that had been closed followings warnings of a terrorist threat.
A US official has told Reuters news agency the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber.
The White House has confirmed that President Biden has been briefed on developments.

Kabul blast - not clear if crowds were still there

The number of casualties from the explosion at Kabul airport remains unclear. Western officials had asked large crowds gathered outside the gates to leave the area following warnings of an imminent - and unspecified - terrorist attack.
However, there have been few pictures from the airport grounds today and it remains unclear whether people had heeded the warnings.

Turkish defence ministry: Two explosions at airport

The Turkish defence ministry says there were two explosions outside Kabul airport. There is no confirmation.

At least two attackers involved

Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary - who was evacuated from the country a few days ago - says that the explosion at Kabul airport occurred in a sewage canal where Afghan refugees were having their visa documents vetted.
He reports that a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the crowd of people before a second attacker started opening fire.


  15:33

At least 11 killed in Kabul bombing, Taliban official

A Taliban official has said that at least 11 people have been killed in the attack on Kabul airport.
The official said the number included women and children and that a number of Taliban guards had also been wounded.
There is no confirmation.

Hospital receives several injuries

Afghanistan's Tolo News is reporting that a number of people injured in the explosion at a gate of Kabul airport have been transported to a local hospital.

Pentagon confirms casualties in airport bombing

The Pentagon has confirmed that the explosion at Kabul airport has resulted in an unknown number of casualties.


15:42

French ambassador: 'Move away from the gates urgently'

France's man in Kabul, David Martinon, has appealed to people to get away from the airport gates because of the risk of another explosion.
"To all our Afghan friends," he posted on Twitter, "if you're near the airport gates move away urgently and take cover - a second explosion is possible."

Kabul airport attack details emerge

The initial attack at Kabul airport was followed with a second explosion and small arms fire, the BBC's Jonathan Beale says.
Both explosions took place near the Abbey gate entrance to the airport where large numbers of Afghan refugees have gathered over the past several days.

Macron: Situation may descend into one 'we can't control'

French President Emmanuel Macron has said that the situation has "profoundly deteriorated" in Afghanistan.
He called for caution before the situation descended into one "that we can't control" and added that the situation around the airport remains very dangerous.

UK prime minister to chair emergency meeting

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a crisis meeting on the situation at Kabul airport on Thursday afternoon, his office says.

 

Pentagon says there are a number of US and civilian casualties

A Pentagon spokesperson has said that the bombing at Kabul airport has resulted in a number of US and civilian casualties and was the result of a "complex attack".

Images show injured victims carried away in carts

Images said to be from the aftermath of the attack outside Kabul airport appear to show injured people with bloodied clothes being moved in wheelbarrows.
Some of the pictures, posted to Twitter by Afghanistan's Tolo news agency, show men, women and children - some with makeshift bandages around their heads - fleeing the scene.

 Warning: Some readers may find the following images upsetting.


Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary - who was evacuated from the country a few days ago - says he has heard from a friend who was in a queue near the airport and had his document approved 15 minutes before the explosion.
He said his friend had witnessed some victims being carried away.
"That tells you that ambulances could not get there," he said.

'Piles of bodies'

The BBC's Secunder Kermani in Kabul: "Videos shared online show piles on piles of dead bodies, so expect the casualties figures to rise."

'Many hurt' in explosion near hotel

Alicia Kearns, a member of the foreign affairs and national security strategy committees, said there had been "many hurt" in an attack near the Baron Hotel, where the UK is processing Britons and Afghans eligible for evacuation.
The Conservative MP tweeted: "A bomb or attack with gunfire at northern gate of Baron's Hotel. Worried this will devastate evacuation - so many hurt. My heart is with all those injured and killed."
Her colleague, Nus Ghani, said she was on the phone to somebody outside Kabul airport when the blast there took place.
She later said he was "ok" and was heading to a "safe house".
Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said the reports from Kabul were "devastating".
"This is an appalling and cowardly attack on those already fleeing unimaginable horrors," she added.
"My thoughts are with the Afghan people and the British, US and international personnel who have remained at the airport to save as many lives as possible."

'When Islamist extremists take power, terror follows'

Tom Tugendhat, UK Conservative MP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, says the attack highlights the chaos unleashed by Taliban rule:


16:33

What we know of the attack so far

• At least two explosions have been reported near the Abbey Gate, being used for evacuations at Kabul airport. One blast was near the Baron Hotel, being used as a staging post by Western nations for evacuations
  
• A Pentagon spokesman confirmed there had been a "number of US and civilian casualties" in the attack. There are pictures of bodies at the scene
  
• US officials also say there were reports of gunfire
  
• The bombings come hours after US and UK officials told their citizens to avoid the airport, citing an imminent threat from militants
  
• US President Joe Biden has been briefed and is monitoring the situation, with UK PM Boris Johnson set to chair an emergency response meeting later
  

President Biden in Situation Room

Barbara Plett Usher - BBC News, Washington
The US president is in the Situation Room along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and they are monitoring the information coming in, in terms of the security situation, the details of the explosion, the details of the casualties. US media have been reporting that a number of US personnel have been injured.
The president last week had started publicly warning about the threat of an attack, which he said might come from IS-K, the Afghanistan branch of the Islamic State group - and that is one of the main reasons we understand why he didn't want to extend the deadline of the evacuation.

Kabul airport blast 'really powerful'

An eyewitness to the attack outside Kabul airport has told a reporter at the scene that the blast was "really powerful".
"Where we were, there was suddenly an explosion," the man said in footage shared by Reuters.
He said he saw "at least 400 to 500 people" in the immediate area and described some of the victims as "foreign forces".
"We carried the wounded here on stretchers and... my clothes are completely bloodied," he said.

Former interpreter: 'It was like doomsday'

Deborah Haynes, foreign affairs editor with Sky News, has spoken with a former interpreter for UK forces who was waiting for an evacuation flight with his wife and young children when the explosions happened.
“It was like doomsday, injured people everywhere," he told her, adding that he "saw people running with blood on their faces and bodies".

Attack is just what we were warned about

Frank Gardner - BBC Security Correspondent
This was a combination of gunfire and explosives, which is a classic insurgent tactic.
It's what's been used in many of the urban attacks that have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months and years - usually with a suicide bomber setting off an explosion.
That's exactly what the intelligence services were warning was going to happen.

No injuries to UK personnel

The Ministry of Defence said in a tweet: "There have been no reported UK military or UK Government casualties following the incidents in Kabul.
"UK forces are working closely with our partners to provide security and medical assistance."

Nato leader condemns bombing

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of Nato, has reacted to events unfolding at Kabul airport.

Journalist's fear for lost friend

Afghan freelance journalist Aisha Ahmad has tweeted that she has now lost contact with a friend in Afghanistan, who she had tried to get to leave the area.
The journalist didn't reveal her friend's identity.

Macron: Extremely tense, but we will carry on

French President Emmanuel Macron says the situation surrounding Kabul airport is now "extremely tense".
"This leads us to... advise each and every person to exercise the greatest caution in a context which we have no control over," he said.
Macron said that, despite the attack, France intended to continue its evacuation operation, as long as a safe environment could be guaranteed.
"For several days France, along with other allies, has been doing the upmost in this situation, and we will continue to do so," he said.
France has so far evacuated 115 French citizens and 2,000 Afghans.
The country has said its last plane will leave tomorrow evening.

'This is only the beginning' - former Trump adviser

Former US National Security Adviser, HR McMaster, has condemned the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and said today's attack was "only the beginning".
Gen McMaster, who served as a senior US officer in Afghanistan, told BBC News the US had prioritised "getting the hell out of there, regardless of what the consequences will be" and that the attack at Kabul airport was "what happens when you surrender to a terrorist organisation".
“Maybe this moment is the time that we can stop our self delusion that these groups are separate from one and other and recognise that they are utterly intertwined and interconnected, and what we are seeing is the establishment of a terrorist, jihadist state in Afghanistan. And all of us will be at much greater risk as a result."
He said his former boss, President Donald Trump, had been "played" by the Taliban in negotiations last year. Mr Trump agreed to remove US troops from Afghanistan within 14 months.

Afghans largely ignored warnings

Today's bombing at Kabul airport came after warnings from several countries that the area could be a target, as thousands gathered there in the hope of leaving the country.
The UK warned just hours ago that a "highly lethal" terror attack could be carried out at any point.
Armed Forces minister James Heappey said there were "very credible" reports of a "severe" threat in the Afghan capital.
The US earlier advised Americans in Afghanistan not to travel or gather at the airport "because of security threats outside the gates".
Australia also issued an alert, telling those outside the airport to leave immediately.
However, many Afghans desperate to flee the Taliban remained at the airport gates, ignoring the warnings.

'Bodies thrown into canal'

There have been some harrowing accounts of what happened at Kabul's airport earlier today.
"Bodies, flesh and people were thrown into a canal nearby," Milad, who was at the scene of the first explosion, told the AFP news agency.
"When people heard the explosion there was total panic. The Taliban then started firing in the air to disperse the crowd at the gate," a second witness said.
"I saw a man rushing with an injured baby in his hands."
In the confusion, the witness - who was not named - said he dropped the documents he hoped would help him board a flight with his wife and three children.
"I will never want to go (to the airport) again. Death to America, its evacuation and visas," the witness told AFP.

Where did the bomb attacks strike?

Two explosions took place earlier today at Kabul's international airport, as part of a reported suicide attack.
Both of the bombs struck near the Abbey Gate, where thousands of Afghans had amassed in the hopes of getting on a flight out of their country.
“We can confirm that the explosion at the gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US and civilian casualties,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
“We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate.”

Afghans too desperate to heed warnings

Secunder Kermani - BBC News, Kabul
There were large crowds at the scene despite warnings of an imminent attack.
People were in such a state of desperation that they're not going to pay attention to this kind of information. They're hearing all kinds of rumours and they're just trying to focus on getting out of the country.
And they've endured so much already to get to this point. Many have camped out for days in dire conditions. What may have seemed to them a vague or hypothetical threat earlier in the day would not have been enough to put them off going to the airport.

17:48

More attacks at airport likely - veteran US colonel

Mike Jason, a former US Army battalion commander who was deployed to Afghanistan, said that observers “all knew that this was going to happen”.
“The targets are just too lucrative and the symbolic gesture just too attractive to these people,” he said.
Analysts believe the blasts are probably the work of Isis-K, the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State.
Col Jason said he believed Isis-K would "absolutely” make another attempt to attack the evacuations.
“They’ve got the resources and they’ve got the reach,” he said. “They’ve also got targets - the crowds of defenceless people who are desperate.”
Col Jason, who is working with a non-profit called Allied Airlift 21 that is aimed at evacuating US Afghan allies, said: “We have precious little time and we have to fight. We have five days until the final American pullout, and we don’t know what happens afterwards".

At least 60 killed in Kabul blasts

At least 60 people were killed and 140 others wounded in the explosions at Kabul airport, a senior health official has told the BBC.

'The baby died in my arms'

An Afghan interpreter who has worked with American forces witnessed the bombing at Kabul airport.
The man, who CBS News referred to as “Carl”, described how he helped care for a young girl who ultimately died in his arms.
"I just saw a lot of people got hurt and people that were laying on the ground," he said.
"I saw a baby there and I went to her and I picked her up and started taking her to the hospital."
"I took her to the hospital, but she died on my hands," he said, estimating her age to be around five years old.
"That's heart-breaking. What is going on right now is heart-breaking, this whole country has fallen apart."
"I tried," the interpreter continued. "I did my best to help her."

.
 

Twelve US service members killed - reports

Twelve US service members - 11 marines and a Navy medic - were killed in the airport attack, officials tell US media.
The deaths mark the first US military casualties in Afghanistan since February 2020.

Who are ISIS-K militants?

President Joe Biden and other senior US officials have repeatedly mentioned the ISIS-K group as the one seeking to attack western targets in Afghanistan. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner sheds more light on the jihadist group.
ISIS-K - or to give it its more accurate name, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) - is the regional affiliate of ISIS (or so-called Islamic State) that is active in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It is the most extreme and violent of all the jihadist militant groups in Afghanistan.
It was set up in January 2015 at the height of IS power in Iraq and Syria, before its self-declared caliphate was defeated and dismantled by a US-led coalition.
It recruits from both Afghan and Pakistani jihadists, especially defecting members of the Afghan Taliban who don't see their own organisation as extreme enough.
Read more from Frank Gardner

   20:03

Pentagon briefing begins

The Pentagon is giving a briefing on the day's events - we'll bring you updates.
Twelve US service members were killed in the blasts at Kabul airport.

Pentagon: Evacuations to continue

"We'll continue to execute the mission despite this attack," says Gen Kenneth McKenzie of US Central Command.
He added about 1,000 US citizens are still believed to be in Afghanistan.

'We expect attacks to continue'

Gen McKenzie says the US is co-ordinating with the Taliban and was "doing everything we can to prepare for these attacks".
He attributed the attack to the Islamic State group.
"The threat from Isis is completely real, we expect those attacks to continue," he said.
He added that the US "will go after" those responsible.

Ireland ends Kabul evacuation mission after saving 36 while 75 left behind after bomb attacks
Rachael O'Connor - Irish Post
Ireland has ended its emergency evacuation mission in Afghanistan despite dozens still stranded in the country.
Ireland had deployed an Emergency Consular Assistance team including two diplomats and Army Rangers to Afghanistan to evacuate Irish citizens, family members, refugees and eligible Afghan citizens following the Taliban takeover of the country.
However, while 36 people have been evacuated, the Department of Foreign Affairs have confirmed it has ended the evacuation following the emergency situation at Kabul airport.
Two explosions, believed to be suicide bomb attacks, have killed at least 13 people and injured at least 60 more near the airport in an attack believed to have been carried out by the ISIS-K terrorist organisation.

Medical staff move a stretcher to bring injured people for treatment after two powerful explosions, which killed multiple people near the airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Warnings were issued today of 'credible' threats of terrorist attacks near the airport targeting the evacuation process by western nations evacuating their citizens and refugees, leading embassies to urge people to stay away.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, released a statement in which he confirmed that "the pre-planned process of the withdrawal of our Emergency Consular Aid Team (ECAT) mission to Kabul has begun and will continue across the course of today, Thursday 26 August.
"Irish diplomats and members of the Army Ranger Wing have aided a number of Irish citizens and residents to evacuate from Afghanistan."
However, around 60 Irish citizens and their families remain trapped in Afghanistan, as well as 15 Afghan citizens with Irish residency.
Minister Coveney accepted that there will be "many in Ireland today with deep concerns" for loved ones stranded in Afghanistan, but said that "our  team needed to evacuate due to the deteriorating security situation".
He assured those still in Afghanistan, as well as their worried families, that "the overall consular effort is continuing and we remain strongly committed to assisting those requiring ongoing consular support in Afghanistan".

No time set for end of civilian airlift

Asked when the US would stop evacuating civilians to focus on withdrawing its troops, Gen Kenneth Mckenzie declined to give a specific date.
The plan is to "maximise" the number of people evacuated "even as we prepare to draw down forces on the ground", he said. But he aknowledged that a balance had to be struck between the two.

 

Islamic State claim responsibility for bombing

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack at Kabul airport.
The claim came in a message posted on their news outlet's Telegram channel.
The group said a suicide bomber - who they identified - detonated an explosives vest among Afghans and US forces.
US Defence officials have also said they believe regional IS militants were behind the bombing.

• CONTEXT: What is Isis-K?
  

What did we learn from the Pentagon briefing?

Top US commander Gen Kenneth McKenzie confirmed that 12 US military personnel were killed and 15 injured in the attacks in Kabul.
Gen McKenzie said:

• US authorities believe the Islamic State group (Isis-K) was behind the attacks and the threat of further incidents is "very real"
  
• These might take the form of vehicle-borne suicide bombings or rocket attacks
  
• The US military is co-ordinating and sharing information with the Taliban to prevent a repeat
  
• US forces believe the Taliban have already prevented some attacks from taking place
  
• Isis-K has shot at military aircraft "without effect", but the US military does not believe they possess man-portable air defence systems (Manpads)
  
• The Pentagon does not believe that additional troops are necessary to secure Hamid Karzai International Airport
  
• Drones and other aerial systems are being used to monitor events and dissuade further attacks
  
• About 5,000 people are at the airport waiting to be evacuated. To date, 104,000 civilians have been transferred from Afghanistan, including 66,000 from the US and 37,000 from allies and partners
  

New blast 'controlled explosion', say Taliban

Residents in Kabul have reported hearing at least one other large blast within the past hour.
Secunder Kermani, BBC Afghan correspondent, was among those who heard the explosion.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the explosions were caused by US forces destroying equipment and said the city's residents should not worry.

Charity chief tells of 'desperate' hospital scenes

Hospitals in Kabul have been treating scores of people injured in the twin blasts on Thursday.
Among them is the Kabul Surgical Centre, run by the international medical charity Emergency.
Emergency head Rossella Miccio is not in Afghanistan - but she told the BBC what hospital staff had been experiencing during the day.
"We started to receive patients 15 to 20 minutes after the first blast. We have received approximately 60 wounded plus approximately 10 dead on arrival.
"And they were all civilians, Afghan civilians, women, men, children that were trying to evacuate, so we suppose that there are many more casualties and wounded because the crowd was huge outside of the airport.
"There's a lot of confusion... A lot of people in the streets. People are searching for relatives, coming to ask if one of their daughters or sons has been taken to our hospitals because they lost contact.
"So it's really a very sad and desperate situation," Miccio said.

Afghan freedom 'wounded but not dead'

The vice-president of the Afghan government ousted by the Taliban says he is co-ordinating resistance to the Islamist group.
"We are geographically confined to the valley, to the Panjshir Valley, but our struggle is for the entirety of Afghanistan," Amrullah Saleh told the BBC.
He said the Taliban's grip on the country was not as secure as it liked to project, and that freedom in the country was "wounded... but it is not dead".
"They are not going to last long, they are not able to break our will," Saleh said.
"We will not surrender. Should the Taliban choose to fight, it will be their choice and we are ready."
Several thousand anti-Taliban fighters are reported to be holding out against the group in the Panjshir Valley, little more than 30 miles or so north of Kabul.
Read more about the "undefeated" Panjshir Valley.

We're pausing our live coverage

We are now pausing our live coverage - thanks for staying with us!
Just to recap Thursday's main developments in the past 24 hours:

• At least 60 people were killed and 140 injured in twin blasts at Kabul airport - an Afghan health official tells the BBC
  
• Twelve US military personnel are among those who died, the Pentagon confirms, in what is the deadliest day for American troops in Afghanistan since 2011
  
• Reacting to the attack, US President Joe Biden tells the perpetrators: "We will hunt you down and make you pay"
  
• He also vows to finish the US pullout, but admits that "getting everyone out is not guaranteed"
  
• The president says so far there is no evidence of collusion between the Taliban and the Islamic State, who claimed it was behind the attack
  
• Western leaders condemn the Kabul attack, as several nations are wrapping up their evacuation operations