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By the associated press
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden visits wounded US soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
There are 15 Marines at the hospital who were injured in an Aug. 26 suicide bombing at Kabul airport. The attack came as the U.S. government was organizing evacuations of Americans, Afghans and allies before the nearly two-decade war in Afghanistan officially ended on August 31.
Eleven Marines were also killed in the attack, along with an Army soldier and a member of the Navy. Biden traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Sunday to witness the return of their remains to US soil as part of a solemn “dignified transfer”.
One of the injured Marines was in critical condition. Three were in serious condition and 11 in stable condition.
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WASHINGTON – Air Force General Tod Wolters, chief of the United States’ European Command, said Thursday that so far only one person evacuated from Afghanistan has been held in Germany over air control issues. security.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters, he said that to his knowledge the person in detention “does not pose a high threat.”
At present, he said, around 58 people have triggered additional security checks and treatment upon arrival at bus stations in Europe and needed additional checks. But he said he expects them all to end up being erased.
Afghan evacuees are flown to several locations in the Middle East and Europe, including Germany, Italy and Spain. Wolters said 155 flights landed in Europe, with around 38,000 people. He said they go through biometric and biographical checks on arrival, before being taken to their dormitories. They are checked again on departure and again on arrival in the United States.
He said there had been few problems with COVID-19 cases and that most of those in need of some type of medical care were pregnant women.
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WASHINGTON – A Marine Corps spokesperson said that of the 15 Marines injured in the August 26 suicide bombing at Kabul airport, one is in critical condition. Three are in serious condition and 11 are in stable condition.
All 15 are at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. No name was provided.
A spokesperson for the Marine Corps, Major Jim Stenger, said Thursday that the conditions for the 15 were as of Tuesday morning. In addition to the 15 wounded, 11 Marines were killed in the attack, as well as an Army soldier and a member of the Navy.
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UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations has announced that its humanitarian air service is resuming air operations in Afghanistan to allow 160 humanitarian organizations to continue their activities in the country’s provinces.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Thursday that the passenger air service, operated by the United Nations World Food Program based in Rome, connects the Pakistani capital of Islamabad with Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. and Kandahar in the southeast.
He said the food program reported that three flights had already taken place to Mazar-i-Sharif since Sunday and that efforts were being made to scale up these operations as soon as possible.
In addition, said Dujarric, a cargo airlift is being set up to transport non-food items such as medical supplies and other emergency supplies to where they are needed most.
He said the humanitarian air service’s domestic passenger service needed $ 18 million and the cargo airlift needed $ 12 million to continue operations.
“From 2002 to 2021, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service in Afghanistan has flown to more than 20 destinations in the country,” said Dujarric. “He will seek to return to these places once security and funding permit.” “
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ISTANBUL – The Turkish Foreign Minister said his country was evaluating plans to reopen Kabul airport.
Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Thursday in Ankara that Hamid Karzai International Airport could be reopened in two stages for military flights and later for commercial flights.
“Now the Taliban and some countries are asking to cooperate with us. We are evaluating all of this, ”Cavusoglu said at the press conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag.
Turkey had operated the airport for six years before the US withdrawal and the Taliban resurgence. These leaders, along with those of Qatar, discussed the reopening. Kaag said the Netherlands wanted to help with technical or security issues at the airport.
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ROME – Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said diplomats were trying to locate Afghans who fled their homeland to Iran and other countries bordering Afghanistan.
Draghi said Thursday that “luckily” many Afghans had fled, but his country wants to locate those who worked with Italy.
Before Italy ended its airlift from Kabul on August 27, it had evacuated nearly 5,000 Afghans who had worked with the Italian military during its 20-year deployment to Afghanistan, along with their families and others deemed to be in danger under the Taliban regime.
Draghi did not say how many Afghans his country was looking for. He added that Afghans who have already reached Italy immediately receive refugee status and commended Italian communities for integrating them into local society.
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KABUL, Afghanistan – A Taliban media spokesperson tweeted a photo of a Qatari military plane on the ground at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.
Ahmadullah Muttaqi posted the photo on Thursday. In Kabul, meanwhile, the roar of planes above our heads could be heard.
It was the first aerial activity in the capital since Monday when the last American evacuation flight left Afghanistan, ending the United States’ longest war. In talks at the airport on Tuesday, Taliban officials said they expected the civilian airport to be up and running within days and the military side a little later.
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TIRANA, Albania – The Albanian government has said another group of 37 Afghans evacuated from Kabul have arrived in the country.
A Foreign Ministry statement said the group arrived early Thursday at dawn from Kiev, Ukraine. They were taken to the university campus in the capital, Tirana, where they will stay before moving to hotels.
Albania has hosted most of the 644 Afghans it is temporarily accommodating in hotels.
The government has said it could temporarily house up to 4,000 Afghans, before they travel to countries for longer-term settlement.
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MORE ABOUT AFGHANISTAN:
– Afghans face hunger crisis, exacerbating Taliban challenge
– Biden defends start of “Eternal War” and praises airlift
– UN chief urges countries to help Afghans at “time of need”
– Victorious Taliban focus on government after US withdrawal
– New Taliban leaders face difficult economic and security challenges
– Analysis: the war is over but not Biden’s challenges in Afghanistan
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– Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS:
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The British Foreign Secretary has said that while the UK will not recognize the Taliban government any time soon, “there is significant scope” for dialogue with the new Afghan leadership.
At a joint Doha press conference with his Qatari counterpart, Dominic Raab said he supported “engagement” with the Taliban to test the group’s broad pledges. He cited promises by the Taliban to protect the travel freedom of Afghans and foreigners, form an inclusive government and, significantly, prevent international terrorist groups from using the war-torn country as a base.
Raab said: “In all of these areas, we will judge them by what they do, not just what they say. “
Diplomatic recognition would prove essential to allow the Taliban to access development aid and loans from international financial institutions as the group faces a plummeting economy.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Qatar’s foreign minister said there was still “no clear indication” when Kabul airport would resume normal operations, but the Gulf Arab state is evaluating the situation with the new Afghan Taliban leadership.
At a joint press conference in Doha with his British counterpart, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar remains “hopeful that we can operate (the airport) as soon as possible”, without giving a timetable or explaining the role of Qatar in providing technical assistance. He said Qatar was working with the Taliban “to identify the shortcomings and the risks of bringing the airport back into service”.
Kabul International Airport has been closed to normal traffic since August 16, when the Taliban took control of Kabul. Military flights and evacuations continued until August 31, when US forces left the country and left the runway without air traffic controllers.
Al Thani also urged the Taliban to keep their promise to allow Afghans and foreigners to leave the country freely once the airport reopens.
Qatar sent a technical team to Kabul airport on Wednesday to assess the operations. The little sheikh, who facilitated talks between the United States and the Taliban, played a disproportionate role in American efforts to evacuate tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan.
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UNITED NATIONS – The president of the UN Security Council says the most powerful organ of the UN will not focus on Afghanistan this month and that “the real litmus test” for the new government Taliban will be the way he treats women and girls.
Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason said on Wednesday that protecting and promoting women’s human rights “must be at the heart of our collective response to the crisis”.
Under the previous Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home, or leave the home without a male escort. Although they faced many challenges in the country’s male-dominated society following the ouster of the Taliban, Afghan girls have not only been educated, but over the past 20 years women have more and more people rose to positions of power in many fields, including government, business, health and education.
Bryne Nason said, “My question is whether the Taliban will be any different, and that is the real question. We have seen no evidence of this.
She said the international community carries weight, because whatever form of government emerges in Afghanistan, it needs international support – and human rights and respect for international law “are issues. major ”.
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