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Turkey will be seen as ‘invaders’ if they stay to run Kabul airport: Taliban
In response to Turkey’s decision to help secure and run the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul after US and NATO troops leave the country, the Taliban said they consider the stay of any foreign forces, under any pretext, as occupation and that they will be considered “invaders”.
In a statement issued Tuesday morning, the Taliban said all foreign troops are to withdraw from Afghanistan in accordance with the Doha agreement, which was signed in February last year between the US and the Taliban.
“The decision of Turkish leadership is ill-advised, a violation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity and against our national interests,” the Taliban stated adding that the group is opposed to Turkey’s decision.
The groups stated “we strongly urge Turkish officials to reverse their decision due to it being detrimental for both countries”.
“We consider stay of foreign forces in our homeland by any country under whatever pretext as occupation, and invaders will be dealt with on the basis of the fatwa of fifteen hundred distinguished scholars issued in the year 1422 Hijri Lunar (2001) – a fatwa under which the past twenty-year Jihad has been waged,” the statement read.
The Taliban also stated that unless Turkey overturns its decision, the group will “take a stand against them as they have stood against the two-decade occupation, in which case the responsibility for all consequences shall fall on shoulders of those who interfere in the affairs of others and make such ill-advised decisions.”
Discussions between the United States and Turkey on security cooperation in Afghanistan have been ongoing for the past few weeks but Turkey has offered to operate and guard the Kabul airport after the withdrawal of US forces.
On Monday, US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price declined to provide details on how arrangements for the airport would work but said: “We certainly welcome Turkey’s constructive role when it comes to the withdrawal and the broader safety and security situation in Afghanistan.”
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Four members of one family killed in Helmand in Pakistan airstrike
The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.
Four members of a family were killed and seven others wounded in an airstrike in Safar area of Garmser district in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province, according to local reports.
The family, originally from Ghazni province, reportedly operated a small restaurant in the area.
The bodies of those killed and the wounded were transported by helicopter to Ghazni province for burial and medical treatment, according to the reports.
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UNAMA acting chief visits Islam Qala border to assess support for returnees
UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.
Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA’s acting head, visited western Afghanistan, including the Islam Qala border crossing, to see firsthand UN efforts to support millions of Afghans returning from neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Earlier this year, the UN launched a $529 million response plan aimed at assisting around 2.7 million Afghans expected to return from Iran and Pakistan between April and December 2026.
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Trump: Unlike Afghanistan, US took all equipment from Iraq
Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday compared the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq with the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying military equipment had been left behind in Afghanistan, while US forces leaving Iraq took their equipment with them.
Speaking at a White House event, Trump referred to the final departure of US-led coalition forces and equipment from Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq, which marked the end of the US military mission against Daesh in Iraq.
“I said, take a little longer. Take everyone. We left all of the equipment, if you remember, in Afghanistan. Everything was left behind,” Trump said.
“I said, ‘I want every screw taken. If there’s a screw lying on the ground, take it. If we have a canvas tent, take it.’ We took everything,” he added.
He also mentioned the August 2021 attack at Kabul airport that killed 13 US soldiers.
Trump said he had become acquainted with the families of the US service members killed in the attack and also highlighted those who were seriously wounded.
“What happened to those—to their children should never have been allowed to happen,” he said, adding that 48 wounded service members were severely injured and “never get mentioned.”
Trump said the withdrawal from Iraq marked the end of what he described as a costly military involvement, adding that he had set a clear mission and instructed commanders to complete it without allowing the US presence to become permanent.
The US military announced on Wednesday that its forces and equipment had completed an orderly departure from Erbil Air Base, formally ending Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq. The US-led mission began in 2014 to fight Daesh after the group seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. The US is continuing its counter-Daesh mission in Syria from a headquarters in Jordan.
Trump said the US had entered Iraq to fight the Islamic State and that the group no longer controlled a territorial “caliphate.”
“We came to fight a caliphate, and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” he said.
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