Two Britons Killed While Waiting For Freedom In Kabul Massacre | United Kingdom | New UK News

Prime Minister praised British troops for their heroism as they rush to evacuate a thousand British and Afghan citizens in the last desperate hours of the operation.

It was confirmed yesterday that the British were killed in the ISIS-K terrorist attack on Thursday. The teenage daughter of a British national is also believed to be among the dead.

Johnson said: “I think their loss really underscores the urgency of continuing and concluding Operation Pitting as we are, and also underscores the bravery of our armed forces, our troops, everyone else involved.

“Of course, as we come to the last hours of the operation, there will unfortunately be people who have not been successful.

“What I would tell them is that we are going to move heaven and earth to help them out. We will do whatever we can in the second phase.”

The Prime Minister said that the timing of the exit operation “is certainly not the one this country would have chosen, and I think everyone understands that”.

He warned the Taliban that if a new Afghan government wanted to engage with the West, it must allow people who wish to leave the country to do so.

Mr Johnson insisted he would continue to work to extract British nationals, Afghan interpreters and others who have not been able to make it to Hamid Karzai International Airport so far.

He said the government “will use whatever leverage we have with the Taliban to make sure they understand it.”

Johnson said the UK would “keep talking to the Taliban” and that the regime “is certainly not a friend of Daesh, the

State of Khorasan province, which claims responsibility “for the attack.

He added: “I think what the terrorist attack certainly shows is that the government of Afghanistan is going to be extremely difficult for whoever heads it, and it has been for a very long time.”

Allied forces, including Canada, Italy and Spain, have already halted their evacuation programs and France ended its airlift last night.

Advisors to US President Joe Biden have warned that the next few days will be the most dangerous as the number of troops declines ahead of the August 31 release deadline.

At least 13 US soldiers were among the more than 170 victims of Thursday’s terror attack, with a large majority of Afghan nationals. The Pentagon said initial reports of two bombings in Kabul were incorrect and that there was only one explosion.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has raised fears of further attacks during the final stages of the Western withdrawal from Kabul.

He praised the British troops for their achievements in the face of grave danger.

About 900 members of the remaining forces are expected to leave by the end of the weekend.

Mr. Wallace told the Daily Express: “Our incredible troops have shown bravery and the highest level of professionalism in the face of a humanitarian and security nightmare.

“We should be very proud of what they have accomplished.” The military evacuation of Afghan and British nationals has so far extracted 14,543 people from Kabul since the start of the mission on August 13.

Figures include embassy staff, UK nationals, those eligible for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy program, and a number of nationals from partner countries.

But Mr Wallace has expressed “deep regret” that not all the people Britain wants to take with them are flown to safety.

He said up to 1,100 Afghans who may be eligible for an evacuation will be left behind by the UK as troops prepare to leave Kabul.

Between 100 and 150 British nationals also “remained in the estimated pot, some of them remain voluntarily,” he said.

The secretary said Britain would be justified in taking action against ISIS-K as it posed an “imminent threat” to the UK.

He added: “If ISIS, which it clearly does, poses an imminent threat to the UK and its people, then we have the right under international law to act. And we will take action where we see this threat emerge and we have the capacity to do so.

“I’m not going to go into how we will deal with the threat, but we have the capabilities to deal with these types of threats.”

He said Western powers would respond to the Kabul explosion by targeting senior ISIS-KM leaders Wallace said military hardware, including Land Rovers, had been dropped during the evacuation in favor of the crowding more people into transport planes.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said two Britons were injured in the terrorist attack as well as those who died. He said: “They were innocent people and it is a tragedy that as they sought to bring their loved ones to safety in the UK they were murdered by cowardly terrorists.”

Mr Raab said the “vile attack” underscores the dangers and “reinforces the reason why we are doing all we can to get people out.”