Taliban Say No Evacuation Extension As G7 Meets On Afghan Crisis

Kabul airport has been mired in chaos as foreign citizens and Afghans fearing reprisals rush to leave after the takeover of the capital by the hardline Islamist Taliban on August 15.

Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers inisted on Tuesday that all foreign evacuations from the country must be completed by Aug. 31 while Western leaders said they would press the hardline Islamists to allow people to leave after that. Kabul airport has been mired in chaos as foreign citizens and Afghans fearing reprisals rush to leave after the takeover of the capital by the hardline Islamist Taliban on Aug. 15. President Joe Biden, who said last week U.S. troops may stay past Aug. 31 to evacuate Americans, will stick to a Pentagon recommendation to remove the troops by that date as long as the Taliban enables the United States to complete its evacuations, three U.S. officials said. Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was increasing concern about suicide bombings by Islamic State terrorists at the airport. One official said it was no longer a question of if, but when, terrorists would attack and the priority was to get out before it happened.