Afghanistan: US military begins withdrawal from Kabul airport, will no longer provide updates on troop numbers

A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday that ‘retrograde’ troop withdrawal has begun as threats remain ‘dynamic’

The US military has begun withdrawing troops and equipment from Kabul airport, the Pentagon said Saturday.

“We have begun retrograding,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a press conference while declining to give specific numbers on how many troops had left and how many remained.

Mr Kirby and other officials said the US would remain in control of the airport until the final withdrawal date slated for the end of the month.

In the meantime, he added, “the threats are still very real. They’re very dynamic, and we are monitoring them literally in real time.”

The Pentagon held the conference following a Friday airstrike that killed two influential ISIS-K members, called Saturday by officials “a facilitator and a planner.” The names of insurgents killed have not been released.

This week was particularly volatile and bloody in Afghanistan as the country’s citizens clamoured to flee ahead of the August 31 date for US withdrawal. The Taliban has taken control of the country after cities fell like dominoes this month, culminating with the capital of Kabul.

On Thursday, a suicide attack outside the airport killed 13 US service members and at least 170 Afghans. Officials said it was orchestrated by ISIS-Khorosan, the Islamic State’s Afghan affiliate. It was the deadliest assault on American troops in a decade in Afghanistan, where the US military started involvement 20 years ago following the September 11 attacks.

Mr Kirby said on Saturday that the remains of those service members killed this week were en route back to the US but declined to give further details.

The drone strike on “high-profile” ISIS-K members, killing two and wounding another, came just a day after the airport suicide attack.

When asked whether the strike was either retaliation for the airport attack or a pre-planned element of counterterrorism strategy, Mr Kirby said it was “a little bit of both.”

“I mean, we have the capability to conduct over-the-horizon counterterrorism” operations, he said, adding: “This certainly fits in that mold.

“But it’s not coincidence that it happened just a couple of days after we lost 13 brave service members.”

He said the military was monitoring in-country intelligence closely as the deadline for withdrawal draws nearer - but officials hoped Friday’s strike would at least make a dent in insurgent forces.

“They have lost some capability to plan and to conduct missions,” he said, adding: “Make no mistake: Nobody’s writing this off and saying, ‘Well, we got them, so we don’t have to worry about ISIS-K anymore. Not the case.

“We’re not thinking for a minute that what happened yesterday gets us in the clear, but do we believe we hit valid targets, bad guys who can do bad things and can plan bad missions? Absolutely. And do we think that will have some impact on their ability going forward? Absolutely.”

While intelligence remains at the forefront of keeping the airport secure, US forces are continuing evacuations of citizens and Afghan nationals. Countless Afghans have flocked to the airport - including many who have helped US forces over the years - in a desperate attempt to get out before complete Taliban control resumes.

Former and current service members have been frantically phoning in favours and making pleas in an attempt to get out friends, former coworkers and family members.

“A lot of us are getting emails and calls and texts from friends and colleagues; many of them are veterans who are passing information to us to try to help get additional people out,” Mr Kirby said Saturday. “We’re doing the best we can when we are contacted.”

Various nonprofits and other groups have been passing along information, as well.

“To the degree that they have brought to light information we can act upon to get additional people out, of course that’s been helpful,” Mr Kirby said Saturday. “We share the concerns these groups have for these individuals. We feel the same obligation they do.”

More than 100,000 people have already been safely evacuated through Kabul airport and room is being made for tens of thousands of others at US military installations.

Mr Kirby denied reports that the Taliban controlled any portion of security within the airport and declined to say who would take over its operation following withdrawal.

“The Taliban have security checkpoints around the airport in a loose perimeter, if you will - but they are not manning gates. They are not at the airports doing security roles or anything like that,” he said Saturday.