Two explosions at and near Kabul airport, with civilians among casualties: US officials
A massive airlift of foreign nationals and their families, as well as some Afghans, has been under way since the day before Taliban forces captured Kabul on Aug 15, capping a swift advance across the country as US and allied troops withdrew.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion, according to a White House official. Biden was in a meeting with security officials about the situation in Afghanistan, where the United States is in the final steps of ending its 20-year war, when the explosion was first reported, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The United States has been racing to carry out the airlift before its military is set to fully withdraw from the country on Aug 31.
In an alert issued on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kabul had advised citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and said those already at the gates should leave immediately, citing unspecified “security threats”.
The United States and its allies have mounted one of the biggest air evacuations in history, bringing out about 95,700 people, including 13,400 on Wednesday, the White House said on Thursday.
There were at least two explosions near and at Kabul’s airport on Thursday (Aug 26) amid a huge evacuation effort from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said, with civilians and US service members among the casualties of what was described as a “complex attack”.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one blast occurred near the airport’s Abbey Gate and the other close to the nearby Baron Hotel. Two US officials said at least one of the explosions appeared to be from a suicide bombing.
“We can confirm that the explosion at the Abbey Gate was the result of a complex attack that resulted in a number of US and civilian casualties,” Kirby said on Twitter.
“We can also confirm at least one other explosion at or near the Baron Hotel, a short distance from Abbey Gate.”
A Taliban official said at least 13 people were killed in the blast, including children, and many Taliban guards were wounded.
A US official, citing initial information, told Reuters as many as five US soldiers may have been hurt, including at least one seriously.
A surgical hospital run by an Italian charity said it was treating more than 60 wounded.
The US Embassy in Kabul described “a large explosion” and said there had been reports of gunfire.
THREAT BY ISLAMIC STATE
The explosion came after the United States and its allies urged Afghans to leave the area because of a threat by the Islamic State.
The Taliban, whose fighters are guarding the perimeter outside the airport, are enemies of the Afghan affiliate of Islamic State, known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), after an old name for the region.
“Our guards are also risking their lives at Kabul airport, they face a threat too from the Islamic State group,” said a Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and before the reports of the explosion.
Britain, Germany, Italy and Turkey said none of their citizens were among those injured in the explosions.
A massive airlift of foreign nationals and their families, as well as some Afghans, has been under way since the day before Taliban forces captured Kabul on Aug 15, capping a swift advance across the country as US and allied troops withdrew.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the explosion, according to a White House official. Biden was in a meeting with security officials about the situation in Afghanistan, where the United States is in the final steps of ending its 20-year war, when the explosion was first reported, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The United States has been racing to carry out the airlift before its military is set to fully withdraw from the country on Aug 31.
In an alert issued on Wednesday, the US Embassy in Kabul had advised citizens to avoid travelling to the airport and said those already at the gates should leave immediately, citing unspecified “security threats”.
The United States and its allies have mounted one of the biggest air evacuations in history, bringing out about 95,700 people, including 13,400 on Wednesday, the White House said on Thursday.