World News | Erdogan: Turkish Army, Citizens out of Kabul

Istanbul, Aug 28 (AP) Turkey has pulled out all its civilians and military from Afghanistan except for a small number of technicians, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, while appearing to criticise the manner of the US withdrawal.

“We transported our citizens to our country. Currently we have a small number of technical elements. Apart from this, we have withdrawn all our teams,” Erdogan told a news conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia on Friday.

Also Read | Pentagon Says Approx 5,400 Individuals at Kabul Airport Awaiting Flights Out of Afghanistan.

“Countries that say they are the strongest in the world should leave the places they enter much more carefully," he said. “Leaving these countries by handing them over to terrorist organisations has a high cost.”

In an apparent reference to the Taliban and the Islamic State group, Erdogan said there was a conflict “between terrorist organisations” in Afghanistan and “it is unthinkable that Turkey or any other country will profit from their conflict”.

Also Read | Kabul Blasts: Only One Suicide Bomber in Airport Attack, Second Not Confirmed, Says Pentagon.

Earlier Friday, Erdogan said Turkey was in talks with the Taliban over providing technical support to keep the airport running after NATO forces leave.

The prospect of Turkey operating Hamid Karzai International Airport after the withdrawal of foreign troops was first raised in June but seemed to have passed when the Taliban took Kabul on August 15. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)