US to evacuate Afghan interpreters as Taliban seize border town
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Thousands of interpreters who aided US and NATO forces in Afghanistan will be evacuated.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Thousands of interpreters who aided US and NATO forces in Afghanistan will be evacuated beginning in late July, Washington announced Wednesday, as Taliban insurgents captured a strategic crossing on the Pakistan border from government forces.
In what the White House dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, the interpreters and their families are likely to be taken first to US overseas military bases or possibly third countries before resettlement in the United States or elsewhere.
Taliban claim control of Spin Boldak border crossing with Pakistan
July 15, 2021
KANDAHAR: The Taliban captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak on the frontier with Pakistan Wednesday, continuing sweeping gains made since foreign forces stepped up their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan´s interior ministry denied the insurgents had taken the area even as social media was flooded with pictures of Taliban fighters relaxing in the frontier town. Residents also told AFP it was in the Taliban´s hands.
Spin Boldak is the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the Taliban in recent weeks, with the insurgents looking to choke off much-needed revenue from the government in Kabul while also filling their own coff
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Thousands of interpreters who aided US and NATO forces in Afghanistan will be evacuated beginning in late July, Washington announced Wednesday, as Taliban insurgents captured a strategic crossing on the Pakistan border from government forces.
In what the White House dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, the interpreters and their families are likely to be taken first to US overseas military bases or possibly third countries before resettlement in the United States or elsewhere.
Many fear retaliation by the Taliban, who are seeking to regain control of the government in Kabul after the departure of US troops before the end of August.
Daily Times Taliban assure traders and residents that their ‘security is guaranteed’ Kabul insists Taliban attack has been repelled
July 15, 2021
The Afghan Taliban on Wednesday claimed that they had captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak along the border with Pakistan, continuing sweeping gains made since foreign forces stepped up their withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“The Mujahideen have captured an important border town called Wesh in Kandahar,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson in a statement. “With this, the important road between (Spin) Boldak and Chaman and Kandahar customs have come under Mujahideen control,” he said, and assured traders and residents there that their ‘security is guaranteed’.