On Saturday, the US Embassy asked US citizens to avoid the airport unless US officials tell them otherwise.
The reason is “potential security threats outside the gates,” according to a warning sent on Saturday. Two days ago, the embassy asked Americans to travel to the airport if they considered it safe.
Unidentified sources in the US government say AP It is a potential threat from the Islamic State (ISIS).
The sources say the threat must be “significant,” but they were unable to provide more information.
He may have checked in at the airport
Swedish express He cites sources that French and US intelligence is emerging that ISIS members may have entered the airport and could be found among people trying to travel outside the country.
According to the newspaper, the gates are closed and all flights are suspended.
This development further complicates the already chaotic effort to evacuate people after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban insurgency. There have been no confirmed attacks yet.
The Taliban has also been fighting to drive ISIS out of Afghanistan since 2015, but the group has been active in the country for several years and has carried out a number of terrorist attacks against civilians.
Relatives carry the coffin of an Afghan reporter who was killed by Islamic State militants in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, in March 2021.
Photo: AP
UD: – Chaotic and confusing
When asked by NRK if Norway would issue the same warning as the Americans, the MFA replied that the situation in Kabul was chaotic and confusing, and that they had an ongoing dialogue with the Norwegians in Kabul about the evacuation.
Foreign Minister In Eriksen Soreid gives a press conference on the evacuation from Kabul on Saturday.
Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
On Saturday afternoon press conference Foreign Minister In Eriksen Soered said it was up to each individual to assess whether they wanted to travel to the airport.
– We made it clear to Norwegian citizens that they should do their own safety assessments, because we don’t have a chance to take them to the airport or help them abroad, Soered said.
The State Department said it was cooperating with its allied partners in Kabul on the evacuation. But they cannot provide more information about their contact with US authorities in light of the threat of a possible attack on ISIS.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell.
Photo: Paul/Reuters
European Union: – It is mathematically impossible to get everyone out
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell said Saturday evening that it would be mathematically impossible for the United States and its allies to evacuate tens of thousands of Afghan workers with their families by August 31.
Borrell also says that the European Union complained to the Americans that their security at the airport was too strict and that it prevented Afghans, who had worked in European countries, from entering the airport.
And hijacked US military helicopters in Kabul on Friday, nearly 170 Americans. No one knows how many Americans remain in the country, but estimates have been as high as 15,000. Since August 15, 17,000 people have been evacuated, including 2,500 Americans, according to the Pentagon.
According to Foreign Minister In Eriksen Soered, 219 registrations of Norwegians in Afghanistan have been received so far. There are families behind many of the registrations, so the total number of Norwegians could be much higher.
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