Afghanistan live news: US warns citizens at Kabul airport gates to ‘leave immediately’ due to security threats

More now on that breaking news, via the Associated Press:

The United States military struck back at the Islamic State on Saturday, bombing an IS member in Afghanistan less than 48 hours after a devastating suicide bombing claimed by the group killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at the Kabul airport.

US Central Command said the US conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State member in Nangahar believed to be involved in planning attacks against the US in Kabul. The strike killed one individual, and spokesman Navy Capt William Urban said they knew of no civilian casualties.

It wasn’t clear if that individual was involved specifically in the Thursday suicide blast outside the gates of the Kabul airport, where crowds of Afghans were desperately trying to get in as part of the ongoing evacuation from the country after the Taliban’s rapid takeover.

The airstrike fulfilled a vow President Joe Biden made to the nation Thursday when he said the perpetrators of the attack would not be able to hide. “We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said. Pentagon leaders told reporters Friday that they were prepared for whatever retaliatory action the president ordered.

“We have options there right now,” said Maj Gen Hank Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

Reuters and AFP report that the US military has carried out a drone attack against an Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) planner in eastern Afghanistan.

According to a statement by the Pentagon, “initial indications show” the planner was killed in the attack.

The Guardian has not been able to verify this independently – this is breaking news and we should have more information shortly.

In less sad news, the Albanian government on Saturday said 154 Afghans evacuated from their country fearing the Taliban arrived on two charter flights.

A government spokesman confirmed the arrivals, organised by a US nonprofit organisation, without giving more details.

The Afghans were taken from Tirana’s international airport to a student housing area to stay for a couple of weeks before moving to hotels in other cities.

A first group of 121 Afghans, which came a day earlier, has been housed at a tourist resort not far from the capital Tirana.

The Afghans are first taken to military tents for Covid tests, medical and psychological assistance and processing of their identification data.

The government has said that as many as 4,000 Afghans may stay at least a year in Albania while proceeding with applications for special visas for final settlement in the US.

The New York Times’ Sharif Hassan reports that a friend of his, journalist Alireza Ahmadi, is among the victims of the airport attack.

Here is Biden speaking earlier on Friday about the next few days being the most dangerous of the evacuation so far:

Earlier on Friday, the US president Joe Biden’s national security team told the president that another terror attack is “likely” in Kabul, and that “maximum force protection” measures are being taken at the airport in the Afghan capital.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, did not go into detail on the assessment Biden received from his team one day after a suicide bomber killed 13 US service members and scores of Afghans outside the airport.

Psaki says the next few days of the mission to evacuate Americans and vulnerable Afghans fleeing Taliban rule “will be the most dangerous period to date.”

Biden has said that he intends to complete the evacuation by his Tuesday deadline.

The statement posted to the US embassy in Afghanistan website reads:

Because of security threats at the Kabul airport, we continue to advise US citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates.

US citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the New Ministry of Interior gate now should leave immediately.

Actions to take:

• Be aware of your surroundings at all times, especially in large crowds.
• Follow the instructions of local authorities including movement restrictions related to curfews.
• Have a contingency plan for emergencies and review the traveler’s checklist.
• Monitor local media for breaking events and adjust your plans based on new information.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook and Twitter.

US citizens who are at the Abbey gate, East gate, North gate or the new Ministry of Interior gate now “should leave immediately”, the embassy in Kabul has warned.

The embassy also said citizens should avoid traveling to the airport because of security threats.

This is just breaking on Reuters, we hope to have more information shortly.

US forces helping evacuate Afghans desperate to flee Taliban rule were on alert for more attacks on Friday.

The White House said the next few days of an ongoing US evacuation operation that the Pentagon said has taken about 111,000 people out of Afghanistan in the past two weeks are likely to be the most dangerous.

The Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, said the United States believes there are still “specific, credible” threats against the airport after the bombing at one of its gates.

“We certainly are prepared and would expect future attempts,” Kirby told reporters in Washington. “We’re monitoring these threats, very, very specifically, virtually in real time.”

US and allied forces are racing to complete evacuations of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans and to withdraw from Afghanistan by a 31 August deadline set by the president, Joe Biden, after two decades of American military presence there.

About 4,200 people were evacuated from Kabul during a 12-hour period on Friday, the White House said.

Earlier in the day US officials said a total of approximately 5,100 Americans had been evacuated, with about 500 more waiting to leave.

While thousands have been evacuated, they are far outnumbered by those who could not get out.

Hi, my name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you developments from Afghanistan as they happen.

As always, if you see news you think we should know, you can get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Here are the key developments from the last few hours:

• Joe Biden’s national security team has warned that US troops remain under threat of another terrorist attack, just 24 hours after the devastating suicide bomb at Kabul airport killed 13 US service members and more than 90 Afghans.
• The UK’s ability to process any more evacuations from Afghanistan is now “extremely reduced”, the Ministry of Defence warned, as the focus turned to getting diplomats and service personnel out of the country.
• France will maintain contacts with Taliban officials in Afghanistan to ensure that at-risk people can leave the country now that the French evacuation operation is over, the country’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said.
• Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby, denied claims that the Taliban had taken over parts of Kabul airport. “I saw that report. It’s false,” he said.
• The Taliban has made clear it wants US diplomatic presence to remain in Afghanistan, according to the US State Department.
• The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, has confirmed US Marine David Lee Espinoza was among those killed in yesterday’s bombing.
• The last German troops returned to the northern air base of Wunstorf on Friday, after evacuating more than 5,300 people from 45 nations out of Kabul airport over the past 11 days.
• A US Marine Corps lieutenant colonel who posted a video demanding accountability from military leaders over the evacuation of Afghanistan has been relieved of his duties and will leave US service. Stuart Scheller posted his video to Facebook and LinkedIn on Thursday.
• Two British nationals and the child of a British national were among those killed, the UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said. Two more British nationals were injured.
• There was one suicide bomber attack and not two, as previously stated, the Pentagon clarified.
• A “credible” terror threat remains as the airlift continues, the Pentagon said. A spokesperson said: “We still believe there are credible threats, in fact I’d say specific credible threats, and we want to make sure we’re prepared for those.”
• Up to half a million Afghans could flee the crisis in their homeland, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said, appealing to all neighbouring countries to keep their borders open for those seeking safety.
• An “unprecedented” number of people are travelling from Afghanistan to Pakistan through the official border crossing after the airport suicide attack has driven more to try to flee the country.
• Anxious crowds of Afghans still hoping to join the western evacuation airlift from Kabul crowded airport gates less than a day after the bombing as flights resumed with fresh urgency.