Author: Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner
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Russia says Taliban canceled inauguration ceremony that was expected to take place on Sept. 11 anniversary
Taliban officials have canceled their reported plans to hold an inauguration event on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that spurred the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, according to a top Russian official. “There simply will be no inauguration,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday, per state media. “I think it is…
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British intel chief has ‘big concern’ over potential large-scale terror attack following Afghanistan exit
British intelligence officials fear large-scale terrorist attacks against the West in the wake of the Taliban‘s return to power in Kabul, and one U.S. lawmaker described Afghanistan as an emerging “terror super-state.” The grim forecast came as the United States prepares to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with the terrorist government back in control…
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Blinken urges officials to ‘try and see around the corner’ after withdrawal from Afghanistan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with a call for diplomats “to try and see around the corner” to identify emerging threats. The somber message was one of several 9/11-themed addresses delivered by U.S. officials Friday and came as America faces a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan, where al Qaeda terrorists…
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State Department: Some Americans declined to board flight out of Kabul due to family ties
A breakthrough Qatar Airways flight departed Kabul’s international airport with fewer U.S.-bound passengers than American officials at first hoped, a State Department official acknowledged “We invited more than 30 American citizens and LPRs [lawful permanent residents] to be on this flight,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “Not all of them ultimately chose to…
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ISIS attack thwarted evacuation of journalists working for US government agency
A group of journalists working for United States-backed media outlets lost access to Kabul’s airport due to the Islamic State terrorist attack last week, according to a prominent State Department official. “We were working on their safe evacuation just as the attack struck the airport perimeter,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Thursday. “The…
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‘Hunted’: Afghans left in limbo struggle to hide from Taliban and find US support
Afghan nationals who converged on Kabul expecting to be evacuated along with other partners of the United States now face a high-stakes game of hide-and-seek with the Taliban. “I’m stucked in Kabul (sic) can’t go to my hometown because the [Taliban] have their checkpoints on the roads, and recently the [Taliban] have killed an Afghan…
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US Embassy urges evacuation of Kabul airport due to ‘specific, credible threat’
Officials are encouraging U.S. citizens to avoid Hamid Karzai International Airport due to a “specific, credible threat” just hours after President Joe Biden warned the area could experience a second attack following Thursday’s blast. “Due to a specific, credible threat, all U.S. citizens in the vicinity of Kabul airport (HKIA), including the South (Airport Circle)…