(OPINION) ETH – At a safe house in Kabul, Jaiuddin (not his real name) has been hiding along with 12 other Afghans since the Taliban seized control of the city nearly three weeks ago.

In an exclusive interview with CBN News, Jaiuddin and the others, who are part of Afghanistan’s very small Christian community, told us they have no passports, no U.S. government-issued exit papers, and right now, see their hopes of escape diminish with each passing hour.

“One of us is always awake during the night, always walking around and praying, so if the Taliban should come and knock on our door, we should alert everyone,” Jaiuddin told CBN News. “We had many plans for preaching the gospel with other brothers and sisters but then the Taliban took control so quickly, it happened so fast,” said Sarah, an Afghan Christian leader.

And now they’ve been marked by the Taliban. “Every day I receive a phone call, from a private number, and the person – a Taliban soldier – warns me that if he sees me again, he’ll behead me,” said a concerned Jaiuddin. On the eve of the deadline for U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan, Jaiuddin and many Afghans and Americans still trapped inside are terrified.

The Pentagon is preparing for more Islamic terror attacks ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. “The threat stream is still real, it’s still active and in many cases, it’s still specific and we are taking it very seriously and we will right up to the very end,” said Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby. CONTINUE