By Mushtaq Yusufzai and Rhea Mogul - NBC News
US authorities on Saturday alerted those trying to leave Afghanistan not to go to the airport in Kabul, due to
"possible security threats" by the Islamic State group
(ISIS, for its acronym in English).
An official from the US Department of Defense indicated that alternative ways are being sought for US citizens to be evacuated from the Middle Eastern country, as well as Afghans and nationals of other nations.
In addition to threats linked to ISIS, senior Taliban leaders are reported to have been arriving in the Afghan capital with a view to imposing a new government there, having taken control of almost all of Afghanistan's provinces after the collapse of the Afghan army. with the US troop withdrawal that began with the Trump Administration in 2020 and continued through Joe Biden's tenure.
"We are advising US citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid the airport gates at this time, unless they receive individual instructions from a US government representative to do so," the US embassy in Afghanistan said in a statement. .
[Such are the prohibitions and mistreatment of women and girls imposed by the Taliban in Afghanistan]
"We will contact registered US citizens to provide further instructions as the security situation changes," the statement said.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after President Joe Biden promised to bring Americans home and help Afghans who collaborated with US forces in the country, as well as others who may be in danger.
"As far as we know, at the
Taliban
checkpoints they
are letting people who show US passports pass
," the president said.
"Now, it's different when they step into the crowd of people just outside the wall near the airport," added Biden.
The countdown to Aug. 31, Biden's deadline for withdrawing most of the remaining US troops, is running out.
And on Friday the president did not promise to extend that term.
Thousands struggle to get out of Afghanistan as chaos reigns in the streets
Aug. 20, 202102: 25
On Saturday, thousands of people continued their nervous wait near Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.
The airport gates had been closed the previous day for the night due to overcrowding in the area.
Senior US military officials told the AP news agency that passenger processing inside the airport restarted on Saturday, but there are a large number of people waiting to fly to Qatar.
New regime
Meanwhile, senior Taliban leaders arrived in the Afghan capital on Saturday to establish a new government, a commander of the militant group told NBC News, the sister network of Noticias Telemundo.
The Taliban's top political leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, will likely appoint several people to establish a formal mandate in the coming days, said the commander who spoke anonymously because he is not allowed to comment officially.
Baradar, who negotiated a peace deal with the United States in 2020, is expected to head the government, the commander said.
The leader of the Islamist group, Maulawi Hibatullah Akhunzada, would serve as head of state, according to the source.
A leadership council, known as a shura, would make decisions based on Islamic law.
The commander quoted by NBC News added that they would like to include all ethnic groups in the new government.
"In our system, no one can ask for any secretariat," he said.
"But one thing must be clear:
there is no place for democracy in Islam, and we will follow what Sharia says
," he added, referring to the name given to Islamic law.
His comments came less than a week after the Taliban completed their swift takeover of the country, finally entering Kabul on August 15 without firing a single shot.
[USA. he knew that Russia offered the Taliban rewards for killing Americans. Trump denies it]
Those who remain in Afghanistan will likely have to adjust their lives to a new Taliban regime.
The group ruled the country with a heavy hand from 1996 to 2001, before a coalition of US-led armed forces toppled the Afghan Taliban after accusing it of harboring Osama bin Laden, the man who planned the September 11, 2001 attacks. .
The invasion of Afghanistan became America's
longest war.
Under the extremist Islamic regime of the Taliban, women and children were largely excluded from public life, and religious minorities were frequently and horribly murdered.
This time, the Taliban said they will seek an "inclusive and Islamic" mandate.
They have ensured that there will be a full amnesty for those who worked for the United States and the Western-backed government as translators, clerks or other functions.
The Taliban have also said they will respect women's rights, but only "within the norms of Islamic law," without elaborating.
However, an intelligence report filed with the United Nations on Friday said the Taliban were already
going door-to-door looking for certain people and were asking for certain names at Kabul checkpoints
in pursuit of the people they were targeting. they worked with US-led forces or with the former Afghan government.
In recent days, the group's fighters have also responded strongly to emerging protests around the country against their mandate.