Turkey begins pulling troops from Kabul airport as US deadline looms
Ankara's proposal to keep troops at Kabul airport appears dead in the water, at least for now.
Turkey has begun withdrawing its troops from Kabul airport, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced Wednesday, as the US military aims to wrap up its evacuation mission in less than a week.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Tuesday again rejected Turkey’s proposal to leave troops at the airport, saying the Taliban is capable of dealing with airport security on its own.
Still, Ankara appears to be leaving open the possibility of continuing to have Turkish personnel operate there. Reuters cited two Turkish officials Wednesday as saying the Taliban had requested Turkish support for running the airport.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to leave Ankara’s force of some 500 to 600 troops at Kabul airport after the NATO and US withdrawal from Afghanistan, but that plan was thrown into disarray by the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Kabul and rejection of any foreign military presence.
