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UK defense minister warns Taliban: ‘We could be back’
By Edmund DeMarche
Published August 13, 2021
Ben Wallace, the U.K. defense minister, said in an interview Friday that his forces could make a return to Afghanistan if there is a resurgence of Al Qaeda and the country becomes a hotbed for terrorism that threatens the West, a report said.
"I’m going to leave every option open. If the Taliban have a message from last time, you start hosting Al Qaeda, you start attacking the West, or countries like that, we could come back."
BIDEN REPORTEDLY MAKES PLEA TO TALIBAN AS TERRORISTS OVERRUN AFGHANISTAN
The Taliban have captured another three provincial capitals in southern Afghanistan, including in Helmand, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the past two decades, as the insurgents press a lightning offensive that is gradually encircling the capital, Kabul.
The insurgents have taken more than a dozen provincial capitals in recent days and now control more than two-thirds of the country just weeks before the U.S. plans to withdraw its last troops.
The U.S. military will help evacuate Americans from the embassy in Kabul as the security situation deteriorates across Afghanistan, two officials confirmed Thursday to Fox News.
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The plans were briefed to President Biden earlier Thursday in order to get his approval, one official added. The military will evacuate "thousands" of American citizens and Afghan interpreters from Kabul.
"Things are moving," one official said.
The Associated Press and Lucas Y. Tomlinson contributed to this report
https://www.foxnews.com/world/uk-defense-minister-warns-taliban-we-could-be-back