https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...line-zbh5llhn8
Britain extends deadline for RAF mercy flights amid growing fears of Isis suicide attacks at airport
Britain will step up the mass evacuation of British and Afghan citizens from Afghanistan today under plans to fly up to 6,000 people out of the country this week.
The Times has been told that the military has extended the deadline for the last RAF evacuation flight from tomorrow to Friday or Saturday in an attempt to help more people.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, and Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, both made the case for extending the August 31 deadline directly to their US counterparts over the weekend.
The evacuation programme has also been significantly expanded as new cases come to light, with the total number of people
eligible to enter Britain rising from 6,000 last week to more than 12,000…..
The Ministry of Defence said yesterday that 5,725 people had been evacuated, including 3,100 Afghan citizens. Government sources said that between 5,000 and 6,000 people who are eligible to come to Britain remain in Afghanistan.
Although the RAF hopes to fly as many as 2,000 people out a day, ministers fear that hundreds if not thousands will be left behind.
“The goalposts have moved, the military challenge has grown significantly,” one government source said. “But we’re doing everything we can. Visas that were taking days to process are now taking minutes, people are getting to the airport, the flights are taking off.”….
The RAF succeeded in flying 1,721 people out of the country in 24 hours over the weekend, the highest total to date, involving eight flights.
Ministers were told last week that the last RAF flight would leave tomorrow to allow the military time to get out before August 31. This has now been extended until Friday or Saturday.
“The original deadline was too gold-plated,” an official said. “They’re now looking at the last evacuation flight leaving 72 to 96 hours before the US withdrawal.”…..
It was reported by the German military that a firefight broke out at Kabul airport’s north gate early today between Afghan security forces and unknown attackers.
The military said in a tweet that one Afghan security officer was killed and another three were wounded in the incident. It added that US and German forces also got involved, and that there were no injuries to German soldiers.
The German military did not reveal any further information and it is not known who the attackers were….
One Taliban commander told The Times that its fighters had a duty to maintain security at Kabul airport and prevent an Isis attack. He said: “There is a security risk and Isis can attack anytime. Our men are checking every individual and vehicle, we don’t mean to create trouble for the Afghan people.”