KABUL, Afghanistan
A plane transporting civilian out of Afghanistan was shot at as it departed Kabul, according to sources within the Italian defense ministry.
Those on board the Italian air force plane
reported coming under fire minutes after take-off on Thursday.
A source told the Reuters news agency the
plane was not damaged in the incident.
An Italian journalist traveling on the
flight told Sky 24 TG that the plane had been carrying almost 100 Afghan
civilians at the time.
There have been increased tensions around
the airport in Kabul in recent days as the August 31 deadline nears for foreign
forces to exit the country.
British citizens still in the country
have been warned to avoid the area
because of the high risk of a terrorist attack.
Thousands of people have been gathering
to try to get on planes leaving the nation after the Taliban seized control.
Frantic scenes have been witnessed amid
fears people who helped foreign powers may be unable to escape, leaving them to
an uncertain future under the new rulers.
It’s not known who was responsible for
the shots or whether the plane was the intended target.
Various western powers, including the UK
and US, have been airlifting people out of Afghanistan for the last two weeks.
In total, around 88,000 people have been
evacuated so far, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
The Taliban have pledged not to attack Western forces during the evacuation, but insist the foreign troops must be out by America’s self-imposed deadline of Aug. 31.
Earlier, British Armed Forces Minister
James Heappey told the BBC there was ‘very, very credible reporting of an
imminent attack’ at the airport, possibly within ‘hours.’
Canadian forces halted their evacuations
of around 3,700 Canadian and Afghan citizens on Thursday, saying they had
stayed as long as they could.
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