UK Defence Secretary: Threat of Attacks in Afghanistan 'Going to Grow' With Western Troops' Pullout

As the US and NATO allies are continuing their evacuation of citizens and Afghan colleagues from Afghanistan after the Taliban's* takeover of power, Kabul was rocketed by a series of blasts on Thursday.

The UK's Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace said on Friday that when it comes to problems like Afghanistan, you "have to manage them and be there for the long run", and not just "fly in and fix problems" like the West seems to think. 

Wallace told Sky News that the threat of further attacks was "obviously going to grow" in Kabul as Western troops got closer to leaving the country. An area of the city's airport, which has seen crowds of people seeking to flee the country, was hit by several explosions on 26 August. 

The blasts, that reportedly occurred outside the Baron Hotel and Abbey Gate close to the airport, killed at least 85 people, including 13 US soldiers.

Daesh-K (ISIS-K)*, a self-proclaimed affiliate of the Daesh* terrorist group which operates in South and Central Asia, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

An overview of crowds at the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan August 24, 2021, in this satellite image obtained by Reuters on August 26, 2021

© REUTERS / MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES

According to Wallace, the blasts haven't hastened the UK's departure from the country:

"The narrative is always going to be: as we leave, certain groups such as ISIS will want to stake a claim that they have driven out the US or the UK."

The defence secretary added that the closure of a processing centre at the Baron Hotel, a spot for Afghan people wishing to flee the country and a gathering point for Western forces, which is located near Kabul airport, had happened "on schedule". 

The UK plans to complete its evacuations from Afghanistan "in a matter of hours", Wallace announced.

"We will process those people that we have brought with us, the 1,000 people approximately inside the airfield now," Wallace said. "And we will seek a way to continue to find a few people in the crowd, where we can, but overall the main processing has now closed and we have a matter of hours."

Biden Says He Bears Responsibility For 'All That's Happened'

The Taliban spokesman previously called the 31 August deadline for the pullout of Western troops "a red line". He said staying beyond the date would be akin to "extending occupation" by the Western forces, as US President Joe Biden had signalled that Washington hoped to complete evacuation of thousands of Americans, NATO members citizens and Afghan allies from the country in time.

Biden's Western partners have continued to pressure the US president to extend the deadline in a bid to get all the loyal Afghans from the country. But as of Thursday, Biden reiterated his commitment to try and complete the evacuation mission before 31 August. 

Biden also pledged to "hunt down" terrorists who carried out the Thursday attacks in Kabul, adding that he bears "responsibility for, fundamentally, all that’s happened of late".

* Terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries.