Britain’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain has the right to “self-defence”. (file)
London:
Britain has said it is “ready” to launch attacks on the ISIS-K terror network in Afghanistan after the Pentagon revealed that the organization has at least 2,000 fighters in the war-torn country.
Islamic State’s Afghanistan ally, called Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, claimed responsibility for the deadly double blasts at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 169 Afghan and 13 American soldiers on Thursday.
British Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said Daily Telegraph The newspaper said on Monday that Britain could be involved in attacks against ISIS-K.
He was speaking after the British and US troops completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
“The UK stands with our coalition partners in mourning those killed in the horrific Daesh (ISIS) attack on Kabul airport and in our unwavering collective resolve to counter the Daesh network by all means, wherever they operate,” he said. .
“If there is an opportunity for us to contribute, I have no doubt we will be up for it. It will happen anywhere violent extremism raises its head and poses a direct or indirect threat to the UK and our allies. Afghanistan is probably one One of the most inhospitable parts of the world, and we’ve been able to work there,” Wigston said.
According to the newspaper, UK government officials are investigating the logistics for the air strikes, raising questions about where the Royal Air Force (RAF) jets will be located, how they will refuel and how to identify targets on the ground. Will go
“Ultimately it depends on whether we should be able to play a global role in the global coalition to defeat Daesh (ISIS), whether it is a strike, or whether it is a large-scale deployment of troops or equipment to a particular country. And at speed,” said Wigston.
When UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was asked to consider the comments on Tuesday, he said that while he would not go into “operational details”, the UK retains the right to practice “self-defense” and that “terrorists” in relation to” should be included. Groups active from abroad”.
Raab is one of the signatories to a joint statement issued by the US-led coalition, which previously targeted ISIS in Syria and Iraq, to crush “all elements of national power – military, intelligence, diplomatic, economic, law enforcement”. Vowed to “attract”. terrorist group.
The minister said Britain needed to face the “new reality” in Afghanistan and work with other countries to exercise “moderate influence” on the Taliban and its pledge of safe passage for those who want to leave. maintain.
He said more than 5,000 UK citizens were among more than 17,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan by Britain and that UK citizens were still in the “lower hundreds”.
Raab also reiterated that the UK government does not recognize some claims that the UK asked a gate at Kabul airport to be left open hours before last week’s suicide bombings to aid in its evacuation – US military In spite of turning it off to reduce the risk of politicians .
Raab told the BBC: “After we became aware of the danger, we did everything we could to reduce the risk before it exploded.”
In a draft resolution passed on Monday evening, chaired by India, the UN Security Council urged the Taliban to allow people to leave the country and not allow it to become a hotbed of terrorism.
The resolution, drafted by the UK and France, was passed with 13 votes in favor and two boycotts – China and Russia.
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the withdrawal of the entire US military on August 31 after two decades of costly warfare. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to leave the country and move to the United Arab Emirates.
Taliban insurgents stormed across Afghanistan and captured all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the US and its allies melted away.
Thousands of Afghan citizens and foreigners have fled the country to escape the new Taliban regime and seek refuge in various countries, including the US and several European countries, resulting in total chaos and deaths.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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