The Latest: Bidens visit wounded troops at Walter Reed

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and archetypal woman Jill Biden are visiting injured U.S. troops astatine Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

There are 15 Marines astatine the infirmary successful Bethesda, Maryland, conscionable extracurricular Washington, who were wounded successful an Aug. 26 termination bombing astatine the Kabul airport. The onslaught occurred arsenic the U.S. authorities was arranging evacuations of Americans, Afghans and allies earlier the astir two-decade warfare successful Afghanistan officially ended Aug. 31.

Eleven Marines were besides killed successful the attack, arsenic good arsenic 1 Army solider and 1 Navy corpsman. Biden traveled to Dover Air Force Base successful Delaware connected Sunday to witnesser the instrumentality of their remains to U.S. ungraded successful a solemn “dignified transfer.”

One of the wounded Marines was successful captious condition. Three were successful superior information and 11 successful unchangeable condition.

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WASHINGTON — Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, caput of U.S. European Command, said Thursday that truthful acold lone 1 idiosyncratic evacuated from Afghanistan is being retained successful Germany for problems getting done information screening.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, helium said that arsenic acold arsenic helium knows, the idiosyncratic successful custody “is not of a precocious threat.”

Right now, helium said, astir 58 individuals triggered further information checks and processing arsenic they arrived astatine the mode stations successful Europe, and needed further checks. But helium said helium expects they volition each yet beryllium cleared.

Afghan evacuees are being flown to respective locations crossed the Middle East and Europe, including Germany, Italy and Spain. Wolters said 155 flights person landed successful Europe, with astir 38,000 people. He said they spell done biometric and biographical screening erstwhile they arrive, earlier they are shown to their sleeping quarters. They are screened again erstwhile they leave, and again erstwhile they get successful the U.S.

He said determination person been fewer issues with COVID-19 cases, and astir of the radical requiring immoderate benignant of aesculapian attraction person been large women.

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WASHINGTON — A Marine Corps spokesperson says that of 15 Marines wounded successful the Aug. 26 termination bombing astatine the Kabul airport, 1 is successful captious condition. Three are successful superior information and 11 are successful unchangeable condition.

All 15 are astatine Walter Reed National Military Medical Center successful Bethesda, Maryland. No names were provided.

A Marine Corps spokesman, Maj. Jim Stenger, said Thursday that the conditions of the 15 were arsenic of Tuesday morning. In summation to the 15 wounded, 11 Marines were killed successful the attack, on with 1 Army worker and 1 Navy corpsman.

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UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations says its Humanitarian Air Service is resuming aerial operations successful Afghanistan to alteration 160 assistance organizations to proceed activities successful the country’s provinces.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that the aerial rider service, operated by the Rome-based U.N. World Food Program, is linking the Pakistani superior of Islamabad with Mazar-i-Sharif successful the northbound and Kandahar successful the southeast.

He said the nutrient programme reports that 3 flights already person taken spot to Mazar-i-Sharif since Sunday and that efforts are being made to measurement up those operations arsenic soon arsenic possible.

In addition, Dujarric said, a cargo airbridge is being established to transport non-food items specified arsenic aesculapian and different exigency supplies to wherever they are needed the most.

He said the Humanitarian Air Service’s home rider work needs $18 cardinal and the cargo airbridge needs $12 cardinal to proceed operations.

“From 2002 to 2021, the U.N. Humanitarian Air Service successful Afghanistan served much than 20 destinations successful the country,” Dujarric said. “It volition question to instrumentality to these locations erstwhile information and backing permits.”

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ISTANBUL – Turkey’s overseas curate says his state is evaluating plans to reopen Kabul’s airport.

Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters connected Thursday successful Ankara that Hamid Karzai International Airport could beryllium reopened successful 2 stages for subject flights and aboriginal for commercialized flights.

“Now determination are requests from the Taliban and immoderate countries to cooperate with us. We’re evaluating each of this,” Cavusoglu said astatine the quality league with Dutch Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag.

Turkey has been operating the airdrome for six years earlier the American pullout and the Taliban’s resurgence. Those leaders, on with Qatar’s, person been successful discussions astir the reopening. Kaag said the Netherlands wanted to assistance with method matters oregon information astatine the airport.

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ROME — Italian Premier Mario Draghi says diplomats are trying to find Afghans who fled from their homeland to Iran and different nations bordering Afghanistan.

Draghi said Thursday that “fortunately” galore Afghans had escaped, but his state wants to find those who worked with Italy.

Before Italy ended its airlift from Kabul connected Aug. 27, it had evacuated astir 5,000 Afghans who had worked with the Italian subject during its 20-year-deployment successful Afghanistan arsenic good arsenic their families and others deemed astatine hazard present nether Taliban rule.

Draghi didn’t accidental however galore Afghans his state was seeking. He added that Afghans who person already reached Italy are instantly being fixed exile presumption and praised Italian communities integrating them into section society.

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KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban media spokesperson has tweeted a representation of Qatar subject craft connected the crushed astatine the Hamid Karzai International Airport successful Afghanistan.

Ahmadullah Muttaqi posted the photograph connected Thursday. In Kabul, meanwhile, the roar of craft overhead could beryllium heard.

It was the archetypal aerial enactment successful the superior since Monday erstwhile the past U.S. evacuation formation near the Afghanistan, bringing to an extremity to America’s longest war. In interviews connected Tuesday astatine the airdrome Taliban officials said they hoped to get the civilian airdrome up and moving wrong days and the subject information sometime later.

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TIRANA, Albania — The Albanian authorities says different radical of 37 Afghans evacuated from Kabul has arrived successful the country.

A connection from the Foreign Ministry said the radical arrived aboriginal astatine dawn connected Thursday from Kiev, Ukraine. They were taken to assemblage field accommodation successful the capital, Tirana, wherever they volition enactment earlier moving to hotels.

Albania has accommodated astir of the 644 Afghans it is temporarily hosting successful hotels.

The authorities has said it whitethorn location up to 4,000 Afghans temporarily, earlier they question connected to countries for longer-term settlement.

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MORE ON AFGHANISTAN:

— Afghans look hunger crisis, adding to Taliban’s challenge

— Biden defends departure from ‘forever war,’ praises airlift

— UN main urges countries to assistance Afghans successful ‘hour of need’

— Victorious Taliban absorption connected governing aft US withdrawal

— New Taliban rulers look pugnacious economic, information challenges

— Analysis: War is implicit but not Biden’s Afghanistan challenges

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/afghanistan

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary says that though the U.K. won’t soon admit the Taliban’s government, “there is an important scope” for dialog with Afghanistan’s caller rulers.

In a associated property league successful Doha with his Qatari counterpart, Dominic Raab said helium supported “engagement” with the Taliban to trial the group’s wide-ranging promises. He cited the Taliban’s pledges to support state of question for Afghans and foreigners, to signifier an inclusive authorities and, significantly, to forestall planetary violent groups from utilizing the war-scarred state arsenic a base.

Raab said: “In each of these areas, we volition justice them by what they do, not conscionable by what they say.”

Diplomatic designation would beryllium captious successful allowing the Taliban to entree improvement assistance and loans from planetary fiscal institutions arsenic the radical confronts an system successful escaped fall.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar’s Foreign Minister says determination is inactive “no wide indication” of erstwhile the Kabul airdrome volition resume mean operations, but that the Gulf Arab authorities is evaluating the concern with Afghanistan’s caller Taliban rulers.

In a associated property league successful Doha with his British counterpart, Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar remains “hopeful that we volition beryllium capable to run (the airport) arsenic soon arsenic possible,” without giving a timeline oregon elaborating connected Qatar’s relation successful providing method assistance. He said Qatar is moving with the Taliban “to place what are the gaps and the risks of having the airdrome backmost up and running.”

Kabul’s planetary airdrome has been closed to mean postulation since Aug. 16, erstwhile the Taliban took power of Kabul. Military flights and evacuations continued until Aug. 31, erstwhile U.S. forces discontinue the state and near the runway without aerial postulation controllers.

Al Thani besides urged the Taliban to unrecorded up to its committedness to let Afghans and foreigners to permission the state freely erstwhile the airdrome reopens.

Qatar sent a method squad to Kabul airdrome connected Wednesday to measure the operations. The tiny sheikhdom, which facilitated talks betwixt the U.S. and the Taliban, has played an outsized relation successful American efforts to evacuate tens of thousands of radical from Afghanistan.

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UNITED NATIONS — The president of the U.N. Security Council says the U.N.’s astir almighty assemblage volition not instrumentality its absorption disconnected Afghanistan this period and “the existent litmus test” for the caller Taliban authorities volition beryllium however it treats women and girls.

Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason of Ireland said Wednesday that the extortion and promotion of quality rights for women “must beryllium astatine the precise bosom of our corporate effect to the crisis.”

Under the Taliban’s erstwhile regularisation from 1996 to 2001, women were not allowed to spell to school, enactment extracurricular the location oregon permission homes without a antheral escort. Though they faced galore challenges successful the country’s male-dominated nine aft the Taliban’s ouster, Afghan girls were not lone educated but implicit the past 20 years women progressively stepped into almighty positions successful galore fields including government, business, wellness and education.

Bryne Nason said: “My question is, volition the Taliban beryllium different, and that’s the existent question. We haven’t seen immoderate grounds of that.”

She said the planetary assemblage has clout due to the fact that immoderate signifier of authorities emerges successful Afghanistan needs planetary enactment — and quality rights and respect for planetary instrumentality “are reddish enactment issues.”