The United States and Germany have advised their nationals in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks as thousands gathered trying to flee the country almost a week after the Taliban took control, reported Aljazeera.
Conditions outside Hamid Karzai International Airport have been chaotic amid the crush of people hoping to flee the Taliban takeover of the country a week ago.
“Because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising US citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a US government representative to do so,” a US embassy advisory said on Saturday.
The German embassy also advised its local citizens not to go to the airport, warning in an email that the Taliban was conducting increasingly strict controls around the airport.
The warnings provided no detail on the danger, but a White House official later on Saturday confirmed that aides had briefed US President Joe Biden on “counterterrorism operations” in Afghanistan, including against the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.
“This morning, the president met with his national security team … They discussed the security situation in Afghanistan and counterterrorism operations, including ISIS-K,” a White House official said.
Known as Islamic State in the Khorasan (IS-K or ISIS-K), the Afghan ISIL branch has been on the back foot since suffering heavy losses in 2019 but it retains the ability to carry out devastating attacks in urban areas, including Kabul.
