Amid evacuations, Taliban demand U.S. leave country by deadline.
KABUL — A firefight outside Kabul’s international airport killed an Afghan soldier early Monday, highlighting the perils of evacuation efforts even as the Taliban warned any attempt by U.S. troops to delay their withdrawal to give people more time to flee would “provoke a reaction.”
The shooting came as the Taliban moved to shore up their position and eliminate pockets of armed resistance to their lightning takeover earlier this month. The Taliban said they retook three districts north of the capital seized by opponents the day before and had surrounded Panjshir, the last province that remains out of their control.
Afghanistan’s security forces collapsed in the face of the Taliban advance, despite 20 years of Western aid, training and assistance. Tens of thousands of Afghans have sought to flee the country since, fearing a return to the brutal rule the Taliban imposed the last time they ran Afghanistan. That has led to chaos at the airport in Kabul, the main route out of the country.
President Biden has not ruled out extending the evacuation beyond Aug. 31, the date he had set for completing the pullout of U.S. forces. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to press Biden for an extension.
But Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, in an interview with Sky News, said Aug. 31 is a “red line” and that extending the American presence would “provoke a reaction.”
The gunfire that broke out early Monday took place near the entrance to the airport where at least seven Afghans died a day earlier in a panicked stampede of thousands of people.
Navy Capt. William Urban, a U.S. military spokesman, said an unknown assailant shot at Afghan security forces at the airport’s gate, leading Afghan, U.S. and allied troops to open fire in response. He said an Afghan soldier was killed and “several Afghans” were wounded.
An Italian humanitarian organization that operates hospitals in Afghanistan said it had treated six patients with bullet wounds from the airport.
There was no comment from the Taliban, who in recent days have fired warning shots and lashed out with batons to try to control crowds swelling into the thousands outside the airport.
Since Aug. 14, the U.S. has evacuated or facilitated the evacuation of some 37,000 people on military and coalition flights. Those efforts are accelerating: In the 24 hours that ended early Monday, U.S. military flights ferried about 10,400 people to safety, an official said.