KABUL: The United States Embassy in Kabul sent out an alert on Wednesday evening advising US citizens in Afghanistan to avoid traveling to the capital city's airport, citing an unspecified security threat amid frantic efforts to evacuate people following the Taliban's takeover of the country. Senior US officials told the media that the warning was related to specific threats involving the IS and potential vehicle bombs.

"Because of security threats outside the gates of Kabul airport, we are advising citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time unless you receive individual instructions from a US government representative to do so," the statement read. "US citizens who are at the Abbey Gate, East Gate, or North Gate now should leave immediately," it added.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday cited "the acute and growing risk of an attack" by the IS affiliate in Afghanistan, known as ISIS-K, as a reason not to extend the withdrawal timeline. "Every day we're on the ground is another day we know that ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport and attack both US and Allied forces and innocent civilians," the President said.

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