Afghanistan

26 Aug 2021; MEMO: A suspected suicide bomb exploded outside Kabul airport today, killing at least 13 people including children, a Taliban official said, after the United States and allies urged Afghans to leave the area because of a threat by Daesh, Reuters reported.

The official said many Taliban guards were wounded.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Evacuation flights from Afghanistan resumed with new urgency on Friday, a day after two suicide bombings targeted the thousands of desperate people fleeing the Taliban takeover and killed more than 100. The U.S. says further attempted attacks are expected ahead of the Tuesday deadline for foreign troops to leave, ending America’s longest war.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two suicide bombers and gunmen attacked crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport Thursday, transforming a scene of desperation into one of horror in the waning days of an airlift for those fleeing the Taliban takeover. The attacks killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 U.S. troops, Afghan and U.S. officials said.

Aug 25 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban have appointed senior veterans to the posts of finance minister and defence minister, two members of the group said, as it switches focus from a stunning military conquest to how to run a country in crisis.

The movement's unexpectedly swift victory has left it struggling to govern, and alongside established Taliban names at the top, it has turned to several lower-level administrators to keep Kabul running.

25 Aug 2021; MEMO: Afghanistan's Taliban movement has appointed a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir, as acting defence minister, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.

Zakir, born in 1973, was arrested by US forces after their invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

After his release, Zakir is said to have directed military operations in Helmand Province, north of the country, before assuming the position of the movement's general military commander.

KABUL, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States should withdraw all troops and contractors before Aug. 31 deadline, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Tuesday.

Afghan citizens will not be allowed to leave the country by the ongoing U.S. evacuation process after the deadline, he told reporters.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A firefight at one of the gates of Kabul’s international airport killed at least one Afghan soldier early Monday, German officials said, the latest chaos to engulf Western efforts to evacuate those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country.

22 Aug 2021; MEMO: Thousands of Afghans remain camped at the airport in Afghanistan's capital Kabul, anxiously waiting for a chance to leave the country after the Taliban takeover, Anadolu Agency reported.

Food, water, and other essential supplies are scarce, leaving men, women, children, and the elderly increasingly desperate after five long days of what they say has been an agonizing wait.

22 Aug 2021; MEMO: Seven people were killed on Saturday in crowds near Kabul airport where people have been gathering to try to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took control, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, reports Reuters.

Since the Islamist militants entered Kabul last weekend, thousands of people have tried to get on flights abroad, fearing a return to the austere interpretation of Islamic law imposed during the previous Taliban rule that ended 20 years ago.

KABUL, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The Taliban fired in the air and used batons to make people line up in orderly queues outside Kabul airport on Sunday, witnesses said, a day after seven people were killed in a crush at the gates.

On Sunday, there were no major injuries as gunmen beat back the crowds and long lines of people were being formed, the witnesses said.