Taliban fighters on Saturday battled a local militia in northern Afghanistan in some of the first significant armed clashes since the rapid takeover of the country, while the Islamist group’s political leaders held talks in Kabul on the formation of a new government.
Efforts to evacuate foreign nationals and Afghans who have worked with them over the past two decades, meanwhile, continued to be plagued by chaotic conditions in the capital. Taliban check points and unruly crowds prevented many from reaching the airport.
The U.S. Embassy warned Americans that “because of potential security threats outside the gates at the Kabul airport, we are advising U.S. citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and to avoid airport gates at this time.”
The security risk partly involved concerns of violence by the Islamic State extremist group, defense officials said. The U.S. is creating at least two new meeting points for Americans to lead them to the…