Hostage fears for 1,000 Afghan allies left at the mercy of Taliban and ISIS-K as Boris tells of ‘great regret’
BRITAIN faces the ";biggest hostage crisis ever" after leaving 1,000 Afghan allies to the mercy of the Taliban and ISIS-K, ministers were warned last night.
The chilling warning came as Boris Johnson said he felt a "great sense of regret" about those left behind and vowed to "shift heaven and earth" to get people out of Afghanistan after the August 31 deadline.
Britain has so far evacuated more than 14,500 Afghan and UK nationals as thousands of people have gathered at Kabul airport over the past 12 days hoping to be rescued after the Taliban seized power.
But up to 150 British citizens and 1,100 Afghan aides are set to miss the final airlifts out after the doors were slammed shut.
Security sources now fear the Taliban, or the terror group ISIS-K, could capture vulnerable Afghans or UK citizens and demand a ransom.
MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said Afghan allies are "literally in fear of their lives" after being left behind.
"Over 3,000 entitled people were said to be in Afghanistan at the beginning of the process, I don't know how many now, but we'll be asking about that.
"And we'll be looking to see what that means for getting British citizens out, what that means for getting entitled people out and protecting those people who are, quite rightly, literally in fear of their lives now."
The Ministry of Defence said 750 personnel remained in Kabul tonight – down from the figure of 1,000 at the peak of the rescue mission.
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Foreign troops are due to leave the war-torn country by Tuesday at the latest after nearly 20 years of conflict.
On Friday night, the UK government even appeared to have deleted the official Twitter account for the embassy in Afghanistan after two decades of war.
But Boris Johnson has said he will "shift heaven and earth" to get people out of Afghanistan after the deadline as he confirmed three British deaths in the "contemptible" suicide bomb blast at the airport on Thursday.
The Prime Minister said he felt "a great sense of regret" about those left behind, as the evacuation process enters its final stages.
He said: "I think what their loss really underlines is the urgency of getting on and concluding Operation Pitting in the way that we are, and also underlines the bravery of our armed services, our troops, everybody else involved."
'SHIFT HEAVEN AND EARTH'
The PM added: "Of course, as we come down to the final hours of the operation there will sadly be people who haven't got through, people who might qualify.
"What I would say to them is that we will shift heaven and earth to help them get out, we will do whatever we can in the second phase."
Thirteen US troops and dozens of Afghans were among those killed in a terror attack at Kabul airport.
A young British girl is missing after the attack as her dad was named tonight as one of the 170 victims.
The attack made for America's deadliest day in Afghanistan for 10 years - and Republicans claimed US President Joe Biden had "blood on his hands".
On Friday, the Pentagon said the attack involved only one location and not two as previously reported.
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Other blasts were heard in Kabul hours later, but were believed to be US troops carrying out controlled explosions as they dispensed of weapons.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, sharing a picture online of one of the suicide bombers.