Terror threat to UK to grow if West neglects Afghanistan, ex-MI6 chief warns

Terrorist groups in Afghanistan will pose a greater risk to the UK if western allies neglect the country after withdrawing troops, warned an ex-M16 chief on Sunday.

Former British intelligence officer and solider, Sir Alex Younger, urged western allies not to "turn their back” on the country, calling it an "enormous mistake" that risks repeating the same errors following Russia's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the late 1980s.  

Younger said terrorist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, "haven’t gone away" and have the "capacity to regenerate", so the international community must think "carefully" about how they deal with instability in Afghanistan and the continued threats posed by jihadist groups. 

"It is vital we don’t make the mistakes that we made last time round," Younger told Sky News, adding that there could be "more threats on the shores of our country and our allies".

Younger said that civil war is "probably" where the country is headed at the moment and that reaching a political compromise between the Afghan government and Taliban was a "remote possibility". 

Although the ex-M16 chief claimed that NATO's mission to weaken terrorist groups in Afghanistan "was an undoubted success" after they first arrived, he stated that efforts to "build a nation" in the long-term had failed.

"I am frustrated by the way in which we have failed - we the international community have failed - to match our ambitions with a proper political plan," he said. 

Younger admitted that attempts to pursue a political path to peace in Afghanistan should have been made much earlier. 

He also said he was "very worried" about what Russia would do after the withdrawal of NATO forces. Russia has previously denied allegations that it supported the Taliban, who are fighting US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. 

The Taliban have advanced and captured territories throughout Afghanistan as NATO forces leave the country ahead of US President Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops. 

While the Taliban have mostly captured rural areas since May - when NATO forces started withdrawing - the latest reports indicate they are closing in on the provincial capital Faizabad in Badakshan northern Afghanistan. In Badakhshan, 10 districts were taken by the Taliban over three days, 8 of them without a fight. 

When asked about Afghanistan on Sunday - America’s Independence Day -  Biden said "I want to talk about happy things. This is a holiday weekend."

At the war’s peak, the US and NATO military forces in Afghanistan surpassed 150,000. 

Last week, Germany and Italy declared their missions over in the country as NATO forces quietly withdrew from Afghanistan. A reduced number of US and British troops remain on the ground. 

The Taliban have advanced in Afghanistan as NATO withdraws 

The Taliban have advanced and captured territories throughout Afghanistan as NATO forces leave the country ahead of US President Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops. 

While the Taliban have mostly captured rural areas since May - when NATO forces started withdrawing - latest reports indicate they are closing in on the provincial capital Faizabad in Badakshan northern Afghanistan. In Badakhshan, 10 districts were taken by the Taliban over three days, 8 of them without a fight. 

When asked about Afghanistan on Sunday - America’s Independence Day - Biden said “I want to talk about happy things. This is a holiday weekend.” 

At the war’s peak, the US and NATO military forces in Afghanistan surpassed 150,000. 

Last week, Germany and Italy declared their missions over in the country, as NATO forces quietly withdrew from Afghanistan. A reduced number of US and British troops are still on the ground. 

The Taliban have advanced in Afghanistan as NATO withdraws 

The Taliban have advanced and captured territories throughout Afghanistan as NATO leave the country ahead of US President Joe Biden’s September 11 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops. 

While the Taliban have mostly captured rural areas since May - when NATO forces started withdrawing - the latest reports indicate they are closing in on the provincial capital Faizabad in Badakshan northern Afghanistan. In Badakhshan, 10 districts were taken by the Taliban over three days, 8 of them without a fight. 

When asked about Afghanistan on Sunday - America’s Independence Day - US President Joe Biden said “I want to talk about happy things. This is a holiday weekend.” 

At the war’s peak, the US and NATO military forces in Afghanistan surpassed 150,000. 

Last week, Germany and Italy declared their missions over in the country, as NATO forces quietly withdrew from Afghanistan. A reduced number of US and British troops are still on the ground.