At least 13 US service members killed in Kabul airport attack

By Rob Picheta, Meg Wagner, Melissa Mahtani, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha and Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 0427 GMT (1227 HKT) August 27, 2021
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9:14 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Latest Afghanistan evacuation numbers from the White House show slowing pace

From CNN's Betsy Klein

People board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III as they evacuate from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 24.
People board a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III as they evacuate from Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 24. Handout/Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force/AP

The latest 24-hour period evacuation numbers from the White House show a slowing pace as the airlift effort enters what is expected to be its final days.

From 3 a.m. ET Wednesday to 3 a.m. ET Thursday, 13,400 people were evacuated from Afghanistan, with approximately 5,100 via US military flights and 8,300 via coalition flights.

That brings the total to more than 95,700 people evacuated since Aug. 14 and over 101,300 since the end of July.

Those numbers have slowed since the last 24-hour period, when approximately 19,000 people were evacuated, 11,200 via US military flights. The record was the 24-hour period from Monday to Tuesday, when approximately 21,000 were evacuated, 12,700 via US military flights.  

A source told CNN there was another 36 hours until the end of the operation to evacuate. The Department of Defense, however, has since said evacuations will continue longer, if needed.

UPDATE: This post has been updated with comments from the Department of Defense.

7:49 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

What’s the difference between refugees, asylum seekers and SIVs?

From CNN's Luke McGee

People evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan wait to board a bus that will take from Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia, to a refugee processing center, on August 25.
People evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan wait to board a bus that will take from Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia, to a refugee processing center, on August 25. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

As thousands of Afghan citizens flee the country ahead of the United States' self-imposed August 31 deadline to wrap up its operation in the country, the world is braced for what will become a huge refugee crisis. 

There is often confusion over the terms used when talking about refugees, asylum seekers and people who have a special status to live in certain countries under specific schemes, such as the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the US. 

Legally, anyone who has crossed an international border with a well-founded fear of persecution is a refugee, and as such is protected under international law. The United Nations’ 1951 Refugee convention describes such a person as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.”

Of the 82.4 million currently displaced persons, 26.4 million are specifically refugees – in other words, not displaced internally within their own country or fleeing because of political unrest, natural disaster, food shortages. 

A good example of how refugees differ is the current crisis in Venezuela. 3.9 million Venezuelans are currently displaced overseas, but most of them had fled because of political unrest and the resultant issues like food shortages. Only 171,000 of these people are currently refugees. 

An asylum seeker, on the other hand, is a refugee who has arrived in the country they wish to live and has formally applied for asylum via that country’s formal channels. The country may ultimately decide that the individual does not meet the UN’s definition of refugee or that they should have applied for asylum in a different country. In this instance, the person might be sent to another country or in some instances back to the place from where they fled. Hence, these people in a state of limbo are asylum seekers. 

Finally, there are those who have special immigrant status, such as the SIV program in the United States. These people have applied for a special status which has been granted by the country they are seeking to enter. In the case of the US, many of these are people who worked with US and allied forces during the war, so therefore fear retribution from the Taliban. 

The problem many of these people are currently facing in Afghanistan is that the Taliban are preventing them from entering the airport; Afghan citizens leaving the country is bad PR for the militant group, who are claiming to have become more moderate.

With thanks to Steve Peers and Daniel Sohege

7:18 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Intelligence of ISIS-K attack now "much firmer," says UK armed forces minister

From CNN's Amy Cassidy 

Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct security as they continue to facilitate evacuations at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 25.
Paratroopers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, conduct security as they continue to facilitate evacuations at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 25. Department of Defense/AP

Intelligence of an ISIS-K terror attack at Kabul airport is now “much firmer,” British Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Thursday morning. 

“There is now very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack, and hence why the Foreign Office advice was changed last night, that people should not come to Kabul Airport, they should move to a safe place and await further instructions,” he told BBC Radio.

"I can only say that the threat is severe. We will do our best to protect those who are there. There is every chance that as further reporting comes in, we may be able to change the advice and process people anew, but there is no guarantee of that.

“The window of opportunity to evacuate people is closing,” Heappey said, as the August 31 deadline to withdraw looms closer. 

Just under 2,000 interpreters and other UK government staff were evacuated in the last 24 hours under the UK government’s Afghanistan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) over eight Royal Air Force flights he said, with another 11 flights scheduled for Thursday. 

This brings the total number of British evacuations in the last week to 12,279, he added.

8:05 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Belgium ends evacuation efforts amid "imminent suicide bomb attack" threat

From CNN’s Sebastien Kraft and Amy Cassidy

People disembark from a chartered Air Belgium plane carrying evacuees from Afghanistan, at a military airport in Melsbroek, Belgium, on Monday, August 23.
People disembark from a chartered Air Belgium plane carrying evacuees from Afghanistan, at a military airport in Melsbroek, Belgium, on Monday, August 23. Benoit Doppagne/BELGA MAG/AFP/Getty Images

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Thursday that a credible suicide bomb threat was the instigator behind his decision to end Belgium’s Red Kite evacuation operations from Kabul Airport on Wednesday. 

“The situation deteriorated significantly, we received information from American sources and from other countries that there was an imminent suicide bomb attack in the area of the airport,” De Croo said during a news conference.

“This information prompted us to engage in a great deal of contact with our allies and ultimately cease all flights from Kabul to Islamabad,” he added. 

The last Belgian evacuees who remained on the tarmac at Kabul airport were evacuated last night, landing at 9:30 p.m. Islamabad time.

The Belgian teams also evacuated several foreign nationals. This brings the Belgian evacuation total to 23 flights and 1,400 passengers.

The Netherlands meanwhile expects its last evacuation flight out of Afghanistan will leave on Thursday, the government said in a letter to parliament.

"The Netherlands has been informed by the United States that it has to depart today and will most likely perform the last flights later today," it said.

"This is a painful moment because it means that despite all the great efforts of the past period, people who are eligible for evacuation to the Netherlands will be left behind."

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also now advised against travel to Kabul airport, following suit with the US and UK due to an ongoing terror threat from ISIS-K. 

And Denmark said its evacuation ended following the departure of the Danish Hercules aircraft's final flight on Wednesday evening. 

The Danish Ministry of Defense told CNN Thursday that the flight to Islamabad took off close to 6 p.m. Kabul time on Wednesday evening. 

7:07 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

French and Tajik Presidents reaffirm commitment to regional security near Afghanistan 

From CNN’s Sébastien Kraft

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, is pictured with President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, in November 2019.
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, is pictured with President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, in November 2019. Antoine Gyori/Corbis/Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call with Emomali Rahmon, the President of Tajikistan, on Wednesday, in which the leaders discussed their common approach with regards to the Afghan crisis, addressing the impending influx of refugees and the consequences of the Taliban’s rise to power.

“[Macron] celebrated the ongoing dialogue between France and Tajikistan, and he expressed his desire to develop new collaborations, notably on the border front,” the Elysée Palace said in a statement Thursday. 

Tajikistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan to the latter’s northeast, is approaching the 30-year anniversary of its independence on September 9. The two presidents also agreed to continue their exchanges moving forward in order to ensure regional “stability and security,” according to the Elysée.

Per Macron’s invitation via Wednesday’s call, Rahmon will visit the Elysée on October 13.

 

7:08 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Turkey might stay on to provide technical support at Kabul airport, Turkish state media reports

A Turkish soldier distributes water to Turkish nationals waiting to evacuate the airport in Kabul on August 18.
A Turkish soldier distributes water to Turkish nationals waiting to evacuate the airport in Kabul on August 18. Handout/Turkish Defense Ministry/AP

According to a top Turkish official, Turkey could stay on and help provide technical support to the Taliban in operating Hamid Karzai International Airport after its troops withdraw, Turkish state-run media Anadolu reported Thursday.

Turkish troops already began withdrawing Wednesday. They had been operating in Afghanistan under UN, NATO and bilateral agreements since 2002 to provide the "peace, welfare and stability of the Afghan people," according to a statement from Turkey's National Defense Ministry Wednesday.

"After our troops withdraw, we could continue this operational task at the airport there. If it is agreed in the terms and an agreement is reached in this direction, we will continue to provide this service there," Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said, according to Anadolu. But talks between Turkey and the Taliban are ongoing and Kalin questions whether the Taliban can establish "the security structure" at the airport.
6:36 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Taliban say talks are ongoing with resistance group in Panjshir

From CNN's Tim Lister

Afghan resistance movement forces take part in military training in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, on August 24.
Afghan resistance movement forces take part in military training in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, on August 24. Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images

Taliban officials have said talks are ongoing with representatives from the northern Panjshir Valley, the last area of Afghanistan yet to fall to the militant group.

Sporadic fighting between the Taliban and the Panjshir-based National Resistance Front, led by Ahmad Masoud, has continued for a week. Taliban officials told CNN both sides had agreed to stop offensive actions. 

Representatives from both sides are negotiating in Charika, the capital of the neighboring Parwan province.

The Taliban officials said one sticking point was the insistence of the National Resistance Front that a national holiday in Afghanistan honoring Masoud's father – Ahmad Shah Masoud – continue to be recognized.

Some background: Masoud led resistance against the Taliban when they were in power between 1996 and 2001. Sept. 9 has been a national holiday in his honor, marking the day he was killed in a suicide bombing in 2001.

The Panjshir Valley, some 150 kilometers (about 93 miles) north of Kabul, is the epicenter of Afghan guerrilla warfare. It has long withstood foreign occupation, and never fell to the Taliban during the militant group's rule between 1996 and 2001.

8:06 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

With 36 hours left to evacuate and gates now closed, an estimated 150 Americans need to get to Kabul airport – source

From CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh in Doha

People being evacuated from Afghanistan queue to board an U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 24.
People being evacuated from Afghanistan queue to board an U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Hamid Karzai International Airport on August 24. Handout/Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/U.S. Air Force/AP

There are an estimated 150 American citizens left in Afghanistan whom the United States need to get to the airport, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The source said the estimate is the number known to need assistance to reach the airport as of 8 a.m. local time on Thursday morning. 

They added that since midnight local time, 200 had been evacuated to the base and flown out. This brings the total number of US citizens evacuated since August 14 to 4,700, the source added.

The statement suggests the operational total of Americans needing to be evacuated is smaller than the broader totals provided by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. 

Blinken said on Wednesday afternoon that there were 500 Americans identified who needed help to get to the airport. Blinken added there were another 1,000 who might need help, but whose citizenship or desire to leave were uncertain. Given the rate of evacuation overnight, the 150 operational total may be a revised update on Blinken’s total of 500, and may even include some of the 1,000 uncertain cases.

The source added there was another 36 hours until the end of the operation to evacuate, and the focus was now on local Afghan staff who worked for the US Embassy. “American citizens are still trickling in but their priority has shifted to local staff,” the source said. 

The source estimated there were about 1,800 local US Embassy Afghan staff still to get to the airport and “36 hours to do it.” They had already recovered 1,300 local staff and evacuated them, they said.

Access to the base is increasingly difficult, the source said. The source added that all the gates on the base were now closed, apart from the one that Afghan security forces were unofficially using to bring in their evacuees.

The main access point at the airport for many holders of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), the Abbey Gate, was “fully” closed earlier on Thursday, possibly due to one of many IED threats, they added. “They were kind of able to pull people through yesterday but I think it's totally cleared out and closed now. They’ve had multiple IED threats the whole time.”

The source added that gate closures mean there are “tons of special interest groups circling the airport in buses trying to figure out how to get in. Very little that can be done for them even though they’d love to help. So literally no one else can get in,” unless they are escorted. “Not even approved SIVs.”

The source expressed frustration at how Washington DC connections were forcing the operation to prioritize certain individuals. “These boutique special interest Congressional/WH groups that keep showing up are distracting from the core mission of getting those people out who we, the US, gave our word to.”

The source said the evacuation operation – although already winding down -- would end Friday. The source added the British were departing on Thursday night. CNN has contacted the UK Ministry of Defence for comment.

8:06 a.m. ET, August 26, 2021

Flight thought to be carrying another US congressional delegation is turned away from Kabul airport – source

From CNN’s Nick Paton Walsh in Doha

A private jet thought to be carrying another US congressional delegation has been denied permission to land at Kabul airport, a source familiar with the situation told CNN on Thursday. 

The Gulfstream jet was visible over Turkmenistan on open-source air traffic websites, but its destination and final route were unclear. It was last seen over Baku, Azerbaijan, and departed from Athens, Greece.

It remains unclear which representative was on the jet.

On Tuesday two congressmen, Seth Moulton, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Peter Meijer, a Republican from Michigan, made a clandestine trip to Kabul "to conduct oversight on the mission to evacuate Americans and our allies."

The decision was criticized by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said: "We don't want anyone to think this was a good idea. There's a real concern about members being in the region."