Evacuation flights resume in Kabul after deadly bombings

Evacuation flights from Afghanistan resumed with new urgency on Friday a day after two suicide bombings targeted the thousands of desperate people fleeing the Taliban takeoverThe US says further attempted attacks are expected ahead of the Tuesday deadline for foreign troops to leave ending Americas longest warKabul residents said several flights took off Friday morningThursdays bombings near Kabuls international airport killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 US troops Afghan and US officials said in the deadliest day for US forces in Afghanistan since August 2011In an emotional speech President Joe Biden blamed the Islamic State groups Afghanistan affiliate far more radical than the Taliban militants who seized power less than two weeks agoAlso Read Kabul airport blasts 90 dead alert for rockets vehicle borne attacksldquoWe will rescue the Americans we will get our Afghan allies out and our mission will go onrdquo Biden said But despite intense pressure to extend Tuesdays deadline he has cited the threat of terrorist attacks as a reason to keep to his planThe Taliban back in control of Afghanistan two decades after they were ousted in a USled invasion following the 911 attacks insist on the deadline The Trump administration in February 2020 struck an agreement with the Taliban that called for it to halt attacks on Americans in exchange for the removal of all US troops and contractors by May Biden announced in April he would have them out by SeptemberWhile the US on Thursday said more than 100000 people have been safely evacuated from Kabul as many as 1000 Americans and tens of thousands more Afghans are struggling to leave in one of historys largest airlifts Gen Frank McKenzie the US Central Command chief overseeing the evacuation on Thursday said about 5000 people were awaiting flights on the airfieldThe scenes at the airport with people standing kneedeep in sewage and families thrusting documents and even young children toward US troops behind razor wire have horrified many around the world as farflung efforts continue to help people escapeBut those chances are fading fast for many Some US allies have said they are ending evacuation efforts in part to give the US time to wrap up its evacuation work before getting 5000 of its troops out by TuesdayBritain said Friday its evacuations from Afghanistan will end within hours and the main British processing center for eligible Afghans has been closed Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News there would be ldquoeight or ninerdquo evacuation flights on Friday and they will be the last British troops will leave over the next few daysThe Spanish government said it has ended its evacuation operationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever