The Scoop

Report: Americans Likely To Be Left Behind In Afghanistan After Kabul Attacks, Face Two Options

By • August 27, 2021 2:04 pm

Some Americans still stranded in Afghanistan will likely be left behind according to a report by Fox News citing “a source briefed on the situation” in Kabul following the deadly attack near the Hamid Karzai International Airport which killed at least 13 US servicemen and many others injured.

The media outlet noted that according to its source, following Thursday’s bombings, “hundreds” of ISIS-K fighters remain “in the vicinity” of the airport where evacuations of American citizens, allies and troops are currently ongoing.

Similar attacks are also “likely to continue,” the source added.

“Military continues to retrograde and depart [the] airport,” the source with knowledge of the situation on the ground reportedly said. 

“Almost a certainty that Americans will be left behind,” it added.

The said source then went on to say that those Americans who will be unable to catch the evacuations “will have to be extracted after-the-fact through either Taliban negotiation or unconventional means.”

Fox News said currently, the Taliban “has essentially completely stopped letting Afghans through” their checkpoints to reach the Kabul airport, but is “mostly letting Americans through.”

“Although Americans [are] all staying away now because of ISIS-K,” the source added.

The bombings  took place just outside the airport in Kabul where evacuations of US forces, allies and Afghans are taking place to flee the largely Taliban-controlled country. One ISIS suicide bomber reportedly hit one of the airport’s main gates and another explosion hit outside Kabul’s Baron Hotel, where Americans gather waiting to be evacuated.

At least 13 US servicemen were killed on Thursday’s bombings along with 60 Afghans —  18 other American soldiers are also reportedly wounded.

President Joe Biden, who took hours to give a speech about the Afghanistan attacks, spoke Thursday evening after holding meetings with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin as well as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and American ground commanders. 

In his remark, Biden said the US has “some reason to believe” they know who the responsible ISIS-K leaders are with the bombings.

Biden vows revenge against attacks

He also vowed revenge against those behind the bombings.

“We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down, and make you pay,” Biden said in his prepared speech at the White House.

Meanwhile, in a statement released following the deadly bombings, former President Donald Trump insisted that the death of US soldiers “should never have been allowed to happen.”

“Our thoughts are also with the families of the innocent civilians who died today in the savage Kabul attack,” Trump said. “This tragedy should never have been allowed to happen, which makes our grief even deeper and more difficult to understand.”

Earlier, the Biden administration said it doesn’t know how many Americans are still in Afghanistan. But on Thursday, Blinken said around 1,500 Americans remain in Afghanistan ahead of the approaching Aug. 31 deadline for the US troops to withdraw its presence in the country.

“We’re aggressively reaching out to them multiple times a day, through multiple channels of communication — phone, email, text messaging — to determine whether they still want to leave,” Blinken said.

Earlier, Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Joint Staff said about 22,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the end of July, including approximately 2,500 Americans  — but mostly non-citizens.

With the recent developments in Afghanistan, calls for Biden’s resignation grows.

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Steeve Strange

Steeve is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Scoop.
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