Washington-London-Sana
The Defense Ministries of the United States and Britain announced today that they are sending additional military forces to Afghanistan to withdraw their remaining nationals in that country.
Reuters quoted US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby as saying that "the Pentagon will send about 3,000 troops on a temporary mission to Afghanistan to evacuate US embassy staff," adding, "The first batch of troops, consisting of three infantry battalions, will arrive within 48 hours."
In turn, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace announced that London would send 600 soldiers to Afghanistan "to help British nationals and local interpreters leave the country in light of the deteriorating security situation," noting that "the British embassy in Kabul will be moved to a safer location and it will work with the basic staff only."
The Afghan Taliban had announced earlier that it had taken control of large areas of Afghanistan, including important cities and border crossings, in conjunction with the US administration's announcement of the withdrawal of its soldiers from this country after an occupation that lasted nearly two decades and completely drained Afghanistan and plunged it into a cycle of chaos and violence.