"The threat stream is still real, it’s still active, and, in many cases, it’s still specific,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday, noting that this whole operation was risky in the first place. This statement came on the eve of the deadline for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Pentagon Spokesperson confirmed that the Americans are in contact with the “Taliban” to make sure that no mistakes or misunderstandings take place, refusing to reveal the actual date of the full US withdrawal, which is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday.

US airstrike reaps civilians

The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the US airstrike that took place on Sunday, which, according to the Washington Post, killed 10 civilians, including several children, all of whom were from the same family.

In this context, John Kirby commented that if the investigation provides information, which proves that civilians were killed in the airstrike, “we will be transparent about it.”

“Nobody wants to see that happen. But there is a very real, a very specific and a very imminent threat to the Hamid Karzai International Airport, and our troops are there, operating at the airport, as well as civilians around it and in it,” Kirby said.

Evacuations underway

On his part, Major General Hank Taylor said that more than 122,000 people, including about 5,400 US citizens, have been flown out of Afghanistan as part of the evacuation effort thus far.

In the same context, the US Army announced that it had thwarted, on Sunday, a "car bomb attack." And on Monday, it intercepted missiles fired at Kabul Airport after the attack that took place on Thursday just outside the airport and killed more than 100 people, including 13 American soldiers, knowing that “ISIS-K” claimed responsibility for the attack.