The U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Friday ordered its staff to destroy sensitive documents and U.S. symbols that could be used by the Taliban for propaganda purposes, as insurgents approached the Afghan capital.
In a memo consulted by AFP, an embassy official told staff where the embassy's incinerator and other document destruction equipment are located.
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"Please include items bearing the embassy or ministry logo, American flags and other items that could be used for propaganda purposes,"
the memo said. A spokesperson for the State Department assured that this was normal procedure in the event of a reduction in the diplomatic presence of the United States in a country.
"The downsizing in our diplomatic representations around the world follows a standard procedure
,
"
said the spokesperson.
The United States is worried about the lightning advance of the Taliban who have taken control of the country's largest cities and are approaching dangerously close to Kabul. President Joe Biden has decided to send 3,000 troops to Kabul airport to secure the evacuation of U.S. personnel from the U.S. Embassy in the country, and preparations are underway to move the embassy to the airport itself.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, however, said on Friday that Kabul did not face an
"imminent threat".
The Biden administration is taking every precaution to protect US diplomats in Afghanistan, nine years after the September 11, 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Four Americans had been killed, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.