A firefight between Taliban and coalition forces at Kabul airport Monday morning killed one Afghan soldier and wounded three others.
The incident comes amid credible threats that ISIS in Afghanistan is plotting attacks around the airport.
The State Department is warning Americans not to try to get to the airport.
U.S. military aircraft are firing flares during takeoff, hoping to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles from the Taliban, who surround the airport.
President Joe Biden insists he made the right decision, saying the withdrawal would be messy no matter how it happened.
"I think that history is going to record this was the logical, rational, and right decision to make," Biden said in a speech to the nation Sunday.
But he's taking fire for not getting Americans out before withdrawing troops.
U.S. citizen David Fox is stuck in Kabul with his wife and child, and they were turned away after reaching the airport.
"The airport is very dangerous," Fox said, "The Taliban enforcers had these big rubber bands – I think they're called motor fan belts – and I actually got whacked with one of these fan belts for not moving fast enough."
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Desperate Afghans are now taking desperate measures. An infant was seen being handed to American troops over the razor wire on the walls that surround the airport. The boy has been reunited with his father.
A young girl was seen begging to be let in, screaming "The Taliban is coming for me!"
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, on her trip to South Asia, laughed as a reporter shouted a question about Americans trapped in Afghanistan.
WICKED: Kamala Harris bursts into laughter when asked about 15,000 Americans trapped in terrorist prison nation of Afghanistan that her administration created.
This is the absolute corrupted state of your Democrat leaders: pic.twitter.com/XWI9xjtIzM
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 22, 2021
Republican leaders are calling out the administration for the catastrophe at the airport and a new and growing terrorist threat to the U.S.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Fox News, "This is an embarrassment on the world stage that Joe Biden has provided us. This has set us back decades. The Taliban now have more Blackhawk helicopters than Australia."
U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) told CBS, "Our mission in Afghanistan was to deny terrorists a sanctuary. The Biden decision now to completely withdraw has handed them an entire country."
The President said the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw U.S. troops and evacuate civilians could be extended.
But there is the word the Taliban will not agree to it.
Did you know?
God is everywhere—even in the news. That’s why we view every news story through the lens of faith. We are committed to delivering quality independent Christian journalism you can trust. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1.