US official says CIA director met Taliban leader in Kabul

WASHINGTON — A U.S. authoritative says that CIA Director William Burns visited Kabul connected Monday to conscionable with the Taliban's apical governmental leader.

The authoritative told The Associated Press the gathering betwixt Burns and Abdul Ghani Baradar came amid the ongoing evacuations astatine the Kabul airport.

The Washington Post archetypal reported Burns' gathering with Baradar.

The U.S. authoritative confirmed the study connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk publicly.

The CIA declined to remark connected the gathering successful a connection to NBC News, citing the agency's argumentation of ne'er discussing the travels and meetings of its director.

The gathering comes arsenic President Joe Biden's self-imposed Aug. 31 deadline to implicit evacuation efforts successful Afghanistan looms successful conscionable 1 week.

While evacuations from the Kabul airdrome person picked up successful caller days, they're inactive lagging down the maximum of up to 11,000 radical a time the Pentagon projects it tin alert retired of the country.

While dozens of subject craft are arriving and departing Kabul each day, reports bespeak that Americans and Afghans seeking to permission the state are struggling to scope the airport. The Taliban person acceptable up checkpoints passim the country, and large, dense crowds person surrounded the airdrome arsenic radical question flight from Taliban rule.

Officials person besides confirmed that Americans are facing threats from ISIS-K, an offshoot subdivision of the Islamic State that is simply a sworn force of the Taliban.

Biden says helium remains unfastened to extending the evacuation deadline and has noted that discussions are continuing.