UK in 'Greatest Danger From Terrorism Since Daesh at Its Height', Ex-British Commander Claims

On Sunday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the evacuation of Britons and allied Afghans from Afghanistan, also urging the Taliban* to prevent the nation from becoming a base for Islamist terrorists.

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of UK forces in Afghanistan, has warned that Britain is now facing "the greatest danger from terrorism since Islamic State [Daesh* was] at its height".

In an interview with Times Radio on Sunday, Kemp argued that with the completion of the nation's withdrawl from Afghanistan, the UK is now in an "extremely dangerous" situation.

According to him, the Taliban "will allow and probably encourage jihadists to pour into the country from around the world, who plan, meet, prepare, train, organise, and carry out strikes against the West from Afghanistan".

The remarks were echoed by Tobias Ellwood, Tory chairman of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, who suggested that "terrorism will raise its ugly face again", asserting that unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strikes alone could not tackle the terror threat.

British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan board a military plane for evacuation from Kabul airport, Afghanistan August 16, 2021, in this handout picture obtained by Reuters on August 17, 2021.

© REUTERS / UK MOD Crown copyright 2021

He was apparently referring to a statement by US Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor, who said that two Daesh-K* leaders were killed and another was injured in a US airstrike in the Afghan province of Nangarhar, in the wake of Daesh's deadly terrorist attack on the Kabul Airport on Thursday.

Ellwood's claims came as The Sunday Times cited an unnamed government source as saying that there was no intelligence to suggest that Daesh poses a greater threat to the UK as a result of the Taliban seizing power of Afghanistan in mid-August.

Referring to Daesh-K, the terrorist group's affiliate in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the source claimed that the branch opposes the Taliban and that there was "no evidence they have the capacity to launch attacks outside Afghanistan's border".

Johnson Says UK May Recognise Taliban on Basis of Conditions

This was preceded by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledging that London would consider diplomatic recognition for the Taliban if they meet certain conditions, including the provision of safe passage for those who wish to leave Afghanistan, respect for women and girls, and striving to prevent the nation "from again becoming an incubator for global terror".

Taliban forces block the roads around the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan August 27, 2021.

© REUTERS / STRINGER

BoJo made the remarks as he heaped praise on the evacuation of more than 14,000 Britons and allied Afghans from Afghanistan, touting the airlift as "the culmination of a mission unlike anything we've seen in our lifetimes". At the same time, he expressed regret over the manner of their withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that "we would not have wished to leave in this way".

The prime minister spoke after Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, called London's Afghanistan evacuation efforts a "sprint finish after a not exactly sprint start".

The standpoint was supported by General Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, who argued that "it was unfathomable why it would appear that the government was asleep on watch".

"We should have done better, we could have done better. It absolutely behoves us to find out why the government didn't spark up faster", he added, in an apparent nod to the evacuation operation.

The White House, meanwhile, on Friday announced that there was clearly a breakdown in the security process that failed to prevent Thursday's suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport, which reportedly left 170 dead, also claiming the lives of 13 US troops.

The attack, claimed by the Daesh-K terrorist group, came amid a chaotic US evacuation from Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August 15. The militant group captured the Afghan capital without a fight after a months-long offensive as it ramped up its military activities amid the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan.

*The Taliban, Daesh (ISIL/ISIS/ Islamic State/IS), Daesh-K are terrorist groups banned in Russia and many other countries.