WASHINGTON: The United States has advised its citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing “potential security threats” near its gates.

The airport has seen a chaotic crush of people hoping to flee the Taliban takeover of the country a week ago.

As thousands of Americans and Afghans wait at the airport for flights or gather nervously outside its gates, there have been “sporadic” reports, confirmed by the Pentagon, of Taliban fighters or other militants beating and harassing people trying to flee.

“We are advising US citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a US government representative,” the alert from the US embassy in Kabul said.

The warning gave no detail on the danger, but a White House official later said aides had briefed President Joe Biden on local “counter-terrorism operations”, including against the militant Islamic State group.

“This morning, the president met his national security team... They discussed the security situation in Afghanistan and counter-terrorism operations, including ISIS-K,” the official said.

Known as Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K or ISIS-K), the Afghan IS branch has been on the back foot since suffering heavy losses in 2019, but retains the ability to carry out attacks in urban areas.

Up to 15,000 Americans need to be evacuated from Afghanistan, according to Biden, who says the administration wants to get at least 50,000 Afghan allies and their family members out of the country.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2021