There were at least two explosions near Kabul’s airport amid a huge evacuation effort from Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday, with civilians and U.S. service members among the casualties.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said one blast occurred near the airport’s Abbey Gate and the other close to the nearby Baron Hotel. Two U.S. officials said at least one of the explosions appeared to be from a suicide bombing.
A Taliban official said that at least 13 people were killed including children and guards who were protecting the airport.
A U.S. official said U.S. service members were among the wounded, adding he was citing an initial report and cautioning that it could change. He said that there were casualties but did not know how many or of what nationality.
Following the news, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the situation around the airport had profoundly deteriorated. “We are facing an extremely tense situation,” Macron told a joint news conference with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin, calling for caution.
Thousands of people have been gathering outside the airport in recent days. Western troops are racing to evacuate foreigners and Afghans who assisted Western countries during the 20-year war against the Taliban and to get out themselves by an August 31 deadline.
Intelligence warnings
There were few details yet of what Kirby called a “complex attack,” but Western countries have been warning of a potential attack by Islamic State militants. In an alert on Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul advised citizens to avoid traveling to the airport and said those already at the gates should leave immediately.
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.
Following the suspected attack, German officials told Reuters they have completed their evacuation operation. Canada halted evacuations, while Belgium ended operations earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo citing the growing threat of a “suicide bomb attack.”
August 31 Red line
Over 95,000 Afghans and foreigners have fled Afghanistan via the U.S.-led airlift since the Taliban took control of the country on August 15.
Despite the U.S. and other nations warnings of a looming terror threat, huge crowds of people desperate to flee continued to throng the airport, their bid for a way out becoming increasingly anxious ahead of the August 31 deadline set by U.S President Joe Biden to end evacuations and withdraw troops.
Biden and his aides have not budged on the hard deadline – even as some foreign nations warned they would be forced to leave at-risk Afghans behind.
