Russia and Washington warned today of possible terrorist threats in Afghanistan that may be caused by the Islamic State, at a time when the evacuations were continuing amid promises to complete them at the end of this month.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the terrorist threat in Afghanistan is high due to the presence of ISIS elements in this country.

Peskov considered that there is talk about the presence of what he described as real terrorists who are not citizens of Afghanistan, adding that the situation there is still very tense and that his country is watching it closely and with concern.

For his part, US President Joe Biden indicated that the "Islamic State in Khorasan" seeks to target Kabul Airport and attack both US and coalition forces and innocent civilians in Afghanistan.

He described this organization as "a sworn enemy of the Taliban as well."

With the end of the evacuations from Afghanistan approaching the end of this month, Biden confirmed that the United States is on track to complete them by August 31.

And a White House official announced that 19,000 people had been evacuated from Kabul Airport during the past 24 hours, via 42 aircraft belonging to the American forces and 48 belonging to allied countries.

He added in a statement that the United States has evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of about 82,300 people from Kabul Airport since August 14, and 87,900 people since the end of last July.


question

Two American parliamentarians returning from Kabul questioned these promises, after a secret visit they made, contrary to official instructions, which drew criticism from the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

"I went with Peter Major (Rep) to Kabul Airport to monitor evacuations," Democratic Representative Seth Moulton wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

"We visited in secret to reduce the risks and impact of this mission," Moulton said.

Evacuation continues

And continues at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, the evacuation of Afghans by the United States and its allies.

Military cargo planes of several countries operate an air bridge around the clock, from the Afghan capital to transport refugees and Western nationals.

For his part, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that most of the Britons had been evacuated, stressing that the deadline for the end of this month would be met.

The French Assistant Foreign Minister for European Affairs also confirmed a deadline for the end of this month to complete the evacuations.

In turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany and its allies in the European Union and NATO (NATO) should learn the lesson from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan to avoid similar scenarios in any military clashes in the future.

On the other hand, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the movement's refusal to keep foreign forces in Afghanistan after the end of this month.


air bridge

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry announced in a statement that it had set up an air bridge today to evacuate about 500 Russians and nationals of neighboring countries from Afghanistan.

The evacuations are carried out using 4 military transport planes heading to the city of Ulyanovsk, located on the Volga River, according to the same source.

These operations include more than 500 Russian nationals, from the member states of the Common Security Treaty Organization (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan), the Moscow-led military coalition, and Ukrainians.

Technical Support

Reuters quoted Turkish officials as saying that the Taliban insists on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the country by the deadline, but has asked Ankara for technical support to operate the Kabul airport.

In this context, the Pentagon said that the airport will not be under the responsibility of the United States when its mission ends and it leaves the airport.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan said that the vicinity of Kabul Airport witnessed the influx of more Afghans wishing to leave the country.