Taliban: US Deadline of Aug. 31 Is a 'Red Line'

The new week brings a continuation of deadly chaos at the Kabul airport. Some of the new developments in Afghanistan:

• Warning: A Taliban spokesman said Monday that foreign nations should not extend their deadlines to leave. "Otherwise, it is a clear violation," the spokesman told the BBC. The same spokesman told Sky News that the US deadline of Aug. 31 in particular is a "red line" and that a breach would "provoke a reaction" (unspecified) from the military group, per ABC News. President Biden has raised the possibility of extending the deadline if troops are still needed to assist evacuations.
• Firefight: A member of the Afghan military was killed in a firefight at the airport on Monday, reports Reuters. Unidentified gunmen reportedly opened fire on the forces guarding one of the airport's gates, and members of the US and German militaries were believed to have been involved in the clash. More details were not immediately available, but no Western troops were reported to be injured.

• New government: The Taliban have reached out to former Afghan President Hamid Karzai as well as to Russia to help it form a government that would be accepted by the international community, reports the New York Times. Karzai appears to be angling for a prominent role in shaping his country's future, per the Wall Street Journal.
• Airport victims: An estimated 20 people have died at the airport over the past week, most in shootings or stampedes, per Reuters. Over the weekend, the 2-year-old daughter of an Afghan interpreter who worked for an American company was trampled to death, reports the Hill. “My baby was such a brave child,” the woman tells the Times. “When she heard the gunshots (in their neighborhood), she would just yell out, ‘Crackers!"

(More Afghanistan stories.)