US general warned Taliban of airstrikes days before they took Kabul: report

Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of the U.S. Central Command, warned Taliban leaders in the final days of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan to keep fighters outside of Kabul, NBC reported.

McKenzie met with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Qatar in August and showed him a map with a circle around Kabul, telling him the U.S. will strike Taliban fighters if they enter the circle, NBC reported, citing three senior defense officials. 

The Taliban agreed to McKenzie’s demands but said some fighters were already inside the circle at the time and wouldn’t leave. The group also offered a liaison for security around the airport to the U.S.

But, the next day, more Taliban fighters entered the capital city and the U.S. did not retaliate with an airstrike.

The Taliban swept into Kabul on Aug. 15, the day Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, and were quickly seen occupying the presidential palace and sitting at the president’s desk.

The news of McKenzie’s warning to the Taliban comes as a Senate panel prepares to hear testimony Tuesday on Afghanistan. 

McKenzie, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are set to appear on Tuesday morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee for the first time since the chaotic exit from Afghanistan.