#Afghan flown to France suspected to have Taliban ties

An Afghan who was recently evacuated from Kabul was arrested by French authorities and is suspected of having ties to the Taliban, according to reports. 

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the man was initially placed on house arrest because authorities “suspected this person to have or to have had ties with the Afghan Taliban government,” according to Franceinfo.

The Afghan was arrested and placed in custody in Paris after breaking the terms of his home confinement “for a few minutes,” Darmanin said. 

The man was allowed to leave Afghanistan after he helped French citizens when the embassy was evacuated and “probably saved lives,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal told BFMTV on Tuesday. 

But when he was interviewed by authorities at a French military base in Abu Dhabi as part of his evacuation to France, the man confessed to being a member of the extremist group and admitted to taking part in a Taliban checkpoint in Kabul. 

He was allowed to continue on to France where he and four others believed to be family members traveling with him were placed under surveillance. 

About 1,200 Afghans have arrived in France since the Taliban took control of the country on Aug. 15, French officials said. 

Across the channel, British officials said a man flown to the United Kingdom from Afghanistan was on a “no-fly” list of possible militants but is no longer considered a risk.

“An individual was flagged to the Home Office as part of the rigorous checks process, involving the police, security services and others,” an Interior Ministry spokesperson said in a statement. “However, upon further investigation, they are not a person of interest to the security agencies or law enforcement.”

With Post wires