Kabul [Afghanistan]: Underlining that the network of US allies and partners in the Middle East and beyond is a huge force multiplier, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Washington will pursue an “over-the-horizon” mission in Afghanistan in response to counterterrorism. “We must work together to combat terrorism–including in Afghanistan from al-Qaeda, and from the malice and sectarian hatred of ISIS,” Austin said during the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ (IISS) Manama Dialogue 2021. “As I made clear last month when I convened the members of the Defeat-ISIS Coalition during the NATO Defense Ministerial, the United States remains committed to supporting our partners in Iraq and Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS,” he added. US Defense Secretary further said that the US is focused on the evacuation of its citizens from Afghanistan, and will keep working on it. “We remain focused on making sure currently that we can continue to get out those American citizens and legal prominent residents that want to come out of Afghanistan. So we will continue to work to do that,” he said. The Taliban took over Kabul after an offensive that saw the lightning fall of the Afghan government forces. The Taliban said that the US was defeated in Afghanistan and that there is no need for any foreign country to counter terrorism in the country, TOLOnews reported. “There are no outsiders in Afghanistan. We will not allow any country’s presence by any other means,” said Inayatullah Khwarazami, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense.
