US sending more troops to Afghanistan for personnel drawdown

US President Joe Biden says his administration warned Taliban against any action putting US personnel at risk.

The United States will send additional troops to Afghanistan to help draw down the American embassy in Kabul and remove personnel, President Joe Biden has announced, as the Taliban seized control of the country’s north in another major setback for the Afghan government. In a statement on Saturday, Biden said he authorised “the deployment of approximately 5,000 US troops to make sure we can have an orderly and safe drawdown of US personnel and other allied personnel” based on recommendations from US diplomatic, military and intelligence teams. He added that the deployment would also be used to evacuate some Afghans going through a special visa programme.