British jihadis have reportedly been secretly smuggling themselves into Afghanistan to join the ranks of the Taliban* Islamist group as it pushes ahead with its massive onslaught, reclaiming territory from government forces.
The phone calls of terrorists with British accents have been intercepted, a senior military intelligence official was cited by The Sun as saying.
"We have received some intercepts of two British men, probably below 30, talking openly on mobiles… One had a London accent, what you might call a street accent,” said the source.
“Intermittent intelligence” purportedly shows that British men have been taking up arms against the Afghan government, which is struggling to contain the Taliban’s power grab, began in May as US and NATO forces began their withdrawal from the country.
“We have no idea who they are. It’s difficult to put a number on it,” security personnel was cited as acknowledging.
Taliban fighter poses near rotorless Hind helicopter gunship in Kunduz Airport.
© Photo : Twitter / @Natocuyuz
British jihadists are believed to have travelled to Afghanistan through Pakistan’s tribal areas to reach the front lines, where the Taliban on Thursday announced they had taken Kandahar, the country's second-largest city, and overrun Herat in western Afghanistan.
“Many British and other foreign jihadists travelled to Afghanistan before and after 9/11 to fight there and, in many cases train, organise and then travel elsewhere for jihad,” the outlet quoted former colonel Richard Kemp, who led UK forces in Afghanistan, as saying.
On Thursday, reports came in that the Taliban had seized two of Afghanistan's biggest cities on Thursday, Kandahar and Herat, according to media reports, including the Associated Press. Taliban had also taken control of Ghazni, situated on the Kandahar-to-Kabul road some 150 km (90 miles) southwest of the capital.
“The more gains the Taliban makes, the more it will encourage jihadists to carry out attacks at home and also head for Afghanistan," Richard Kemp was cited as saying.
He warned:
“If the country, or a large part of it, is permanently controlled by the Taliban it will again become a safe haven for terrorists as it was before 9/11. We are on the verge of a threat no less than that from IS* (Daesh) at its height.”
The UK government was cited as saying that British Taliban fighters would “pose a very serious national security risk”.
‘Deteriorating Security Environment’
The United States and Britain have announced they will send troops to help evacuate their embassy staff in light of the current "security conditions".
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the security of British nationals, military personnel and former Afghan staff was the government's first priority. He underscored that it was imperative to “do everything we can to ensure their safety". Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the additional deployment of about 600 UK troops to Afghanistan came "in light of the increasing violence and rapidly deteriorating security environment in the country".
It was announced by the MoD that UK ambassador Sir Laurie Bristow, set to remain in Afghanistan with a small team of personnel, would be moved to a more secure location within Kabul.
The UK embassy will also reportedly help the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) which supports relocation of former Afghan staff and their families to the UK.
The US is similarly dispatching some 3,000 additional military troops to the airport in Kabul to help evacuate a "significant" amount of embassy staff.
"We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in the coming weeks," said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. The State Department vowed to speed up Special Immigration Visa flights for Afghans who helped the US forces in the country.
This comes as Taliban fighters could possibly take over the Afghan capital Kabul within 90, a US defence official cited intelligence assessments as suggesting on Wednesday. "But this is not a foregone conclusion," Reuters quoted the source as adding.
Amid the volatile situation, international envoys who met with Afghan government negotiators and Taliban representatives in Qatar reaffirmed that foreign capitals would not recognise any government in Afghanistan "imposed through the use of military force". They urged an accelerated peace process for Afghanistan as a "matter of great urgency".
*The Taliban and Daesh are both terrorist organisations banned in Russia.