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Photo 5Dozens of people were injured in the attack. Photo by EPA-Elta
“We can confirm that there was an explosion at the Kabul airport,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
The blast took place at the main gate of Abbey airport, where thousands of people have flocked over the past 12 days to flee Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country.
The bodies of at least five people and more than 10 more were transported to a hospital in the Afghan capital after the explosion at the Kabul airport, a former AFP photographer told the hospital.
“There were many bodies and injuries; at least five people died,” said a photographer who was at the hospital, which often treats people affected by the blasts.
American citizens are also among the victims of the attack, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby wrote on Twitter.
US and allied officials have previously said they have intelligence that suicide bombers linked to the Islamic State (IS) branch in Afghanistan are threatening to attack the airport before Washington’s August 31 deadline to complete the evacuation of people.
Earlier on Thursday, Western countries urged their citizens to leave the airport and the surrounding area immediately due to the terrorist threat, with thousands of people still floating there trying to get on evacuation planes.
The United States has asked people waiting at the Kabul airport to leave the area on Wednesday night due to a “security risk.”
Many members of the US-led coalition said Thursday that they had completed or would soon complete their evacuation flights from Hamid Karzai Airport.
The total number of people evacuated from a US-controlled airport since the start of the operation on August 14. it rose to 95,700 on Thursday, which includes both Afghan and foreign nationals.
US President Joe Biden said Thursday that his country will meet the August 31 deadline for withdrawing troops.
Afghan authorities on August 15. A Taliban spokesman, who took office, said Tuesday that the evacuation operation should end on August 31.
ADDITIONAL
At least 52 people were injured in Thursday’s attack on the Kabul airport, according to the Taliban.
There were also deaths, but the exact number is still unknown, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahide told local television station TOLONews.
The NGO Emergency has previously announced that at least six people have been transferred to its hospital in Kabul.
According to initial reports, there were two explosions at the Kabul airport: one at one of the airport gates and the other at a nearby hotel.
The attacks killed 60 civilians, 13 Americans and 28 Taliban in Kabul
The explosions near the Kabul airport killed at least 28 members of the Taliban. A Taliban spokesman told Reuters they lost more people than Americans.
The United States reported 13 soldiers killed. 18 Americans were injured. A total of 60 civilians were killed in the attacks.
After the deadly attacks, US President Joe Biden threatened revenge on the terrorists who organized them. “We will persecute you and you will pay for it,” he said Thursday at the White House.
Biden also said the evacuation from Afghanistan would continue. “We will continue the evacuation,” he said. The terrorists would not force the United States to suspend its mission.
The Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Through its propaganda spokesperson, the Amaq group said that one of its fighters had exploded at the airport. In the region’s Islamic State branch, an Islamic State (ISKP) fighter from Chorosan province reportedly overcame all security barriers and approached US troops “within five meters.” Then he detonated his explosive vest.
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