TOKYO, August 30. /TASS/. The Taliban radical movement (outlawed in Russia) optimistically views the upcoming complete withdrawal of foreign troops from Kabul airport and plans establishing complete control over this structure, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in an interview with the NHK TV channel published on Monday.
The spokesman noted that the US has already vacated some parts of the airport and they are currently controlled by the Taliban. The group is optimistic about the complete pullout of foreign forces from the airport. He added that the group will have the entire airport under its control in the near future.
On August 28, Russian Ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov said that the Taliban was considering Turkey and Qatar as the countries that could technically manage the airport in Kabul.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country. Many nations evacuated their citizens and embassy staff. The Taliban instructed all foreign forces to leave the country by August 31, otherwise their presence will be considered as occupation.
On August 26, two powerful blasts triggered by suicide bombers from the Islamic State (IS - outlawed in Russia) terrorist group occurred near the building of Kabul airport used by Western countries to evacuate foreign citizens. More than 200 people were killed in the terror attack, including 13 US servicemen. The threat of terror attacks in Kabul remains.